The Aurelian Prophecy
by Willow-98
Summary: The apocalypse is starting and the only thing that can stop it is the joint efforts of the Scooby's and the Aurelian Four. Angelus is souled, Darla and Drusilla are willing to help to avoid extinction. The final and missing link is Spike...Set in seasona
1. Chapter 1

Buffy rolled expertly to her feet and swung around to face her opponent who was slowly approaching with an evil grin lighting up his features, "You're gonna die, Slayer," he rasped out threateningly.

Buffy raised an eyebrow and blocked the vamps punch turning him so that his back was facing her and pushing the stake through his un-beating heart, "Boy if I had a dime for every time I heard that one," she muttered to herself. She rotated her shoulder wincing slightly when a shock of pain raced up her arm, despondent, she left the cemetery and started home. She had really been hoping to see Angel tonight, they hadn't gotten to see each other much recently.

She easily jumped up into the tree outside her bedroom window and crawled in to the safety of her home. It had been a long week, after they had stopped the reassembling of the zombie football player everything had been quiet during the days. At night while on patrol though Buffy had noticed a startling increase in the demon population out and about. The nightmares that had haunted her after her fight with the Master were less now than before she had destroyed his bones she still had them, complete with the acutely detailed feelings and emotions. Suffice to say that it was hard to sleep. With a small sigh she wrapped her shoulder and crawled into her nice warm bed closing her eyes and allowing sleep to overtake her, hoping that it would be peaceful.

Light flashed brightly and spastically all around her as legions of demons rose before her. She could taste the fear and pain that was palpable in the air surrounding her. Another flash of light and she saw Angel standing there looking at her by his side were three shadows, she couldn't see who they were. The light flashed again and she saw the mangled bodies of Willow and Xander, of Giles and Cordelia. Of herself, eyes open and lifeless.

With a start she shot up in bed, trembling in the wake of the images. She glanced at her alarm clock, it was almost time to get up for school, which was good. There was no getting back to sleep after that.

Buffy walked into the library and was greeted with smiles all around. "Hello Buffy," Giles said kindly.

"Heya Buffster, good patrol last night?" Xander asked eagerly.

"Yeah, any big bads we need to worry about," Willow said only half joking.

"Should be one anytime now, after all it's been a whole two weeks since the last one!" Cordelia added sarcastically.

Buffy rolled her eyes and grinned, "Hey everyone, patrol was fine. I did have this really weird dream though."

"Did it involve a sombrero wearing camel and pixie sticks?" Willow asked curiously. Everyone paused to look at her in amusement, she blushed in embarrassment. "Just me then?"

Before anyone could answer Giles spoke up, "Was it a slayer dream?"

Buffy looked at him in contemplation for a second, "I'd say a definite yes."

"What did I just say?" Cordelia muttered.

"What was it about?" Xander asked, going into his rare serious mode.

"There was a bunch of flashing lights and then out of nowhere came this huge demon army. I saw Angel standing behind me and there were these three other shadows standing next to him." Buffy paused not wanting to say the next part but knowing by now that all details were important, "I saw all of our bodies," she said hurriedly.

"All of ours?" Giles asked.

"Yes. You, Will, Xan, and Cordelia. And me" Buffy said quietly taking a seat beside Xander.

"Can I just say 'gulp'?" Xander asked nervously, not liking the details.

"I see," Giles said calmly.

"I knew hanging with you guys was gonna get me killed." Cordelia said angrily, pointing her glare at Buffy.

"Yeah well, without us you would have been dead a long time ago, your majesty." Xander sneered defensively.

Cordelia opened her mouth to reply but Giles interrupted her, "The shadows standing around Angel, do you have any idea who they were?"

"No, I couldn't get a good look at them," Buffy replied.

"I'll consult my books. You should talk to Angel." Giles told her.

"I'll help with the book stuff, we should be able to dig something up. Don't worry Buffy." Willow encouraged.

"I'm gonna go and leave the fighting to you losers." Cordelia said.

"And on that helpful note...I volunteer to be snack man." Xander offered.

"Angel?" Buffy called out as she walked into the mansion that Angel had claimed as his own.

"Buffy." She heard him say quietly from behind her, she quickly turned around and couldn't help but smile.

"I had a slayer dream last night," Buffy told him, deciding that she should try and get straight to the point for once.

Angel's face grew even more serious than usual and he nodded for her to come over to the couch and sit with him. "What was it about?"

She explained the lights and demon army, the bodies of her and her friends, and then the reason that she came to talk to him, "You were there too. And there were these three shadows beside you. I couldn't see what the looked like though," she finished.

She watched as Angel sighed and closed his eyes. "I think I know who they were," he started to say slowly.

"Wh-" Buffy cut herself off as she watched a figure seemingly float into the room.

"The stars have said it all, daddy," the woman said dreamily.

"Who is that?" Buffy demanded as she took in the woman's appearance. She could tell that she was a vampire.

"This is Drusilla," Angel introduced. "Dru, go into the other room for awhile." The woman looked at him childishly before gracefully going back to where she came from.

"Who is Drusilla?" Buffy asked angrily.

"Drusilla-is one of my children. I sired her over a century and a half ago," Angel said. "You said that there were four of us in your dream, right?"

"Yes. Drusilla is one of them? Is that what you're saying?"

"The air's changed recently, something big is coming and everyone can feel it. Drusilla was drawn here because of it," Angel explained.

"So you and Drusilla...who were the other two shadows?" Buffy asked, trying to keep the conversation emotionless.

"Back before I got my soul there were four of us who traveled together, the scourge of Europe. All of us from the Line of Aurelius."

"The line of what?" Buffy asked in confusion.

"Our bloodline-coming from the master himself," Angel said, trying to ignore her flinch. "Darla was sired by him. I was sired by her. Dru was sired by me, and Spike was sired by her. Together the four of us traveled all over the world, Europe specifically, and started reigns of terror, wars," he said, shame coloring his tone. "The four of us have the strongest link to the bloodline. We've been referred to as the Aurelian four throughout history."

Buffy was silent for a long moment as she processed the information of her boyfriends past coming from his own mouth. Finally she looked at him 'stay on track, Buffy.' "Okay, but Darla's dust. You killed her last year. You and Drusilla are here, have you heard anything from this Spike guy?"

"No. I'm rather surprised that he isn't here though. He and Dru were inseparable for over a hundred years. It's a good thing though, Spike isn't someone you want to go up against."

Buffy scoffed, "I killed the master and he was way older than this Spike, guy. What kind of name is Spike anyway?"

Angel's lips twitched slightly before he schooled his features into an expression of seriousness again. "Originally William the Bloody, Spike got his name after he began killing his victims with railroad spikes. And, Buffy, the master-however powerful he was-never killed one slayer, let alone two. Spike has."

Buffy froze at that. "Two slayers?" she choked out.

"Yes, one during the Boxer Rebellion, I was there for that one, newly ensouled. I didn't know what to do with myself. The other one I just heard about, in New York in the 70's, I think." Drusilla had drifted back into the room during Angel's description.

"I miss my Spike," she pouted. "Gone, gone away. Left me all alone, he did. Swallowed up by anger and sunshine."

"Dru, where is Spike? Why isn't he with you?" Angel asked, curious confusion taking over his features.

"My William got tired of his dark princess. Doesn't want me anymore. Gone, gone away, he 'as." Drusilla told them softly as she twirled around the room. Buffy watched unimpressed as she spun her way out of the room.

"I don't see what the big deal is. So he left her, I think the reason why is obvious," Buffy said, bored.

"No, Spike isn't like that. He stood by Drusilla for over-"

"A hundred years. I got that."

"No, you don't. No matter what or who Drusilla did he was there for her. He only had eyes for her. I never understood that about him. Dru was his one weakness, the fact that he's not here with her means something," Angel insisted.

Buffy considered this, a willingly loyal vampire was not something usually seen. "Maybe he came across another slayer-since they seem to find him so often-and got himself staked."

"Slayers never sought him out, he sought them out," Angel told her.

"So he has a death wish then?" Buffy laughed.

"No. Maybe. He wanted the challenge. Something to keep him busy, a reason to stay alive-or undead, anyway," Angel told her.

Buffy's interest was peaked even more at this, a vampire who needed a reason to stay undead. This Spike guy was sounding more and more interesting by the second. "Okay, but if he wasn't killed by a slayer why wouldn't he come with Drusilla? I mean, hello! Slayer here for the killing," she pointed out while waving a hand over at herself. Something occurred to her suddenly, "Angel, why would you turn an obviously insane person?" she asked gesturing over in the direction that Drusilla had left.

Angel was silent for a long moment, his inner struggle was evident. Should he tell her? He'd have to, "Dru...Dru wasn't always crazy. She's sensitive, has visions. I found her when she was in the process of becoming a nun to repent for them. I toyed with her, as Angelus, killing her family, driving her mad. And then on the evening that she was supposed to take her vows I turned her," he quietly explained.

Buffy looked at him, barely managing to repress her appalled expression. "I should go tell Giles about the Aurelian four. Although since Darla's dead and Spike's missing I dunno if they were actually the shadows in my dreams," she mutters as she quickly got up and left the mansion.

Angel watched her go before dropping his head in his hands. Hearing Dru start crying from the next room he sighed and got up, "Where the hell is Spike when you need him?"

"Ah, Buffy. What did Angel say?" Giles asked as Buffy entered the library.

"He said that he thinks the three other shadows were the other three that made up the Scourge of Europe. Darla, Drusilla, and Spike AKA William the Bloody." Buffy told him, plopping down on a chair.

"William the Bloody! Really?" Giles said in interest.

"So you've heard of him." Buffy said.

"Of course, the watchers council has expended great resources for information on him. The second most vicious vampire in history," Giles mused.

"Second?"

"After Angelus, or course," Giles elaborated.

"Yeah, well, Angelus never killed two slayer, he never even killed one," Buffy pointed out.

"No. According to history, Angelus was known for his sadistic nature, his love of torture and mind games," Giles started, speaking softly but firmly, his slayer needed to know who her boyfriend was. "Spike didn't relish in the torture like his grandsire did. He preferred a straightforward fight, the better the warrior the better for him. The most extraordinary thing that the Watchers documented was his apparent love for his sire, Drusilla."

"Yeah, Drusilla is in town by the way," Buffy said offhandedly.

Giles started, "And Spike?"

"Is not. It's got Angel all kinds of confused. Drusilla didn't seem very happy either."

"You met her?" Giles asked with a frown.

"Oh yeah, she and Angel are shacking up," Buffy replied bitterly.

"Angel's theory could be right."

"Sure, except the part where Darla's dead," Buffy pointed out for what seemed like the millionth time that day, it seemed like a pretty big detail to her, anyway.

"..."

"Giles? What with the 'oh dear' face?"

"There's a prophecy-" Giles began.

"Another one? Am I gonna die again?" Buffy asked, trying to laugh off the fear she felt at the word prophecy.

"Well, if it happens then you won't be the only one," Giles assured her. "It says-"

"Please just put it into words that I'll understand," Buffy requested.

"Very well. The demon army in your dream is prophesized to be the army that will rid the world of any creature with human blood in them. They are known as The Scourge, full blooded demons that want to ensure that they alone live on this earth."

"So humans, vampires, and any other halfblooded demon will be killed by them," Buffy said.

"Precisely. The prophecy mentions something about the Aurelian line being key to stopping The Scourge," Giles told her.

"Aurelian, Well that's Angel, Darla, Spike, and Dru," Buffy said. "Angel said that they are the Aurelian four, the only vampires left with a close link to the origin of their bloodline."

"Interesting."

"Really? I don't think so. If the Aurelian four are the key and there are only three left then I think this is more bad than interesting."

"The prophecy wouldn't have been written if all the elements weren't going to be here when the time came. We know from experience that a vampire can be resurrected," Giles pointed out.

"Giles, Darla dusted, she didn't become a pile of bones," Buffy said, annoyed. "I'm gonna go patrol, can you fill the others in on everything?"

"Of course, be careful," he warned, but his slayer was already out the door.

Angel walked out of Drusilla's room and back towards the living room, his childe was even harder to manage now then she had been before. Entering the living room Angel froze. "Darla."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I don't have a whole lot more written after this so updating may be a bit slower, and my work schedule will probably not allow me to update every day. I do have every intention of finishing what I've started here though =).**

**Big Thank You to "shadow" for your review, I appreciate it =).**

Giles had only just finished explaining the latest apocalypse to his young peers when the door to the library swung open and Angel walked in with two women at his side. Giles, Willow, and Xander immediately recognized one of them. "Uh-you're dead," Xander said dumbly.

"We all are, silly little boy," the dark haired female laughed. Giles assumed that this must be Drusilla.

"Angel..." Willow squeaked out.

"Don't worry, they won't attack. They're both here for the same reason," Angel soothed. "Where's Buffy?"

"Right here," Buffy's strong voice sounded from behind the three vampires. She slowly walked past them and towards the table where her friends were seated, never removing her eyes from them. "Darla, I thought you were dust," she said snidely.

"I was," Darla replied in the same smooth voice that Buffy remembered. She noticed that instead of the catholic schoolgirl uniform she'd worn in the past, Darla was dressed in jeans and a tee-shirt,

"We don't know how she was resurrected, but I think that my earlier theory was right," Angel told them.

"Where did you appear?" Giles asked the blonde vampire, interestedly.

"The same place I was killed," she replied, her eyes flashed yellow at the reminder of her second death. "You know why I'm back. Tell me," Darla demanded, staring the watcher down.

Giles bravely maintained eye contact and cleared his throat before launching into the story of the prophecy for the third time that night.

"I don't understand how a group of four half-blood's are supposed to be able to stop an army of purebloods intent on destroying us," Angel said in confusion.

"Not to mention that there aren't even four of us," Darla scoffed looking over at Drusilla who was staring off into space.

"Yeah, how do we know that this Spike guy isn't dead?" Xander piped up.

"I would have felt it if he dusted, part of the sire link," Angel replied.

"And considering that I'm sitting here right now even if he had died I don't think that would have stopped him," Darla added. "Drusilla, darling. Where is William?" she asked sweetly.

"My William left me. Gone, gone away," Drusilla said.

Darla rolled her eyes in impatience, "Yes I know, you've said. Why did he leave you?"

Drusilla looked over at her grandsire with wide little girl eyes. "His dark princess was very naughty. Spike no longer wants her."

"You cheated on him again?" Angel asked.

"And he finally said enough," Darla finished, looking somewhat proud of that fact.

"So how do we get him here?" Buffy questioned.

"And we want him here, why?" Xander asked.

"Yeah, Buffy, didn't you guys say that he's killed two slayers?" Willow agreed.

"The prophecy demands that all four of the Aurelian's be here, together," Giles told them.

Buffy looked over at Angel, "Darla was resurrected because of this and you said that Drusilla was drawn here for the same reason, so should Spike be drawn here too?"

Angel scowled and Darla laughed.

"What?" Buffy demanded.

It was Darla that answered, "If something tells Spike to go one way he almost always goes the opposite."

"Great," Buffy muttered.

"It doesn't mean that we can't try to get him here, though," Angel spoke up. "We all have a link to one another, A sire can call his or her children to them. Spike is the youngest of us all, if we were to all use the link then we might just annoy him into coming."

"I suppose it's worth a try," Darla replied with a nod.

"Hang on. Why is it that your so eager to help instead of eating us?" Xander demanded.

"I was just brought back to life, I don't find the idea of extinction very appealing. None of us do," Darla sneered at the boy.

"I dunno, Spike might let it happen just to spite us," Angel muttered.

"Not very fond of you, then?" Giles asked the vampire.

"The feelings mutual," Angel returned.

"I think you should try to call him here. Giles how long do we have?" Buffy asked.

"A matter of days. A week or two at most," her watcher replied grimly.

Buffy nodded darkly and turned back to the vampire trio, "So the sooner you get started on that, the better."

Halfway across the world a peroxide blonde Vampire flinched harshly as the blaring call of three of his older family members burst into his head, summoning him to Sunnydale, California. "Bloody 'ell."

Two nights after Darla's miraculous resurrection and the subsequent discovery of the prophecy the scooby gang along with three vampires sat at a large table going over any materials that would help them defeat The Scourge. Buffy, Xander, Willow, Cordelia (who had decided that she didn't want to be left out of the loop), and Giles held themselves stiffly in the presence of what used to be their foe. Darla smiled a wicked smile at the tension that the air held, Angel was uncomfortable and Drusilla was busy scolding Miss Edith.

Buffy and Angel had hardly talked about anything non-apocalypse since he told her of his history with Drusilla. And everyone was getting nervous that the final link in their defense wasn't going to show up. The three vampires had Spike on a constantly open link, sending out endless calls.

"I'm going crazy, I need to go patrol," Buffy announced. She quickly stood up and started to leave.

"I'll go with you," Angel said.

"Oh, no. No way are you leaving us here with two unsouled killer vamps," Cordelia said firmly.

"If we were going to kill you we would have done so already," Darla said in false sweetness.

"Must kill the bad men, the stars tell me. Can't kill the white lights," Drusilla agreed.

"R-ight," Xander nods sarcastically.

"You'll be fine," Angel assured them.

"Yeah, haven't you ever heard 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend?'" Buffy asked cheerfully before quickly leaving the room with Angel.

The scoobies had a short standoff with the two remaining vampires before the air finally settled down to a slightly less tense atmosphere and they all went back to their prior activities.

"Are you all still calling Spike?" Buffy asked Angel as they patrolled Restfield Cemetery.

"Yes, we haven't stopped in the last two days. Spike is anything but patient, he'll come eventually," Angel told her confidently.

Buffy started to respond when the sounds of shouting reached her ears, immediately she and Angel started running towards the sounds of conflict. As they grew closer the words became easier to understand. They turned the corner just in time to see an ass ugly vampire descending down upon a shorter man. "You killed my girlfriend," he snarled.

"I've killed a lot of people's girlfriends, mate," the other man replied in a cocky British accent. Buffy felt more than saw Angel tense up next to her but her attention was focused on the sight in front of her. The brutish vampire stalked closer and closer to the peroxide blonde who did nothing but light up a cigarette.

"You'll pay," he snarled before pouncing towards the Brit. Buffy barely managed to catch the movements of the blonde as he brought his lighter down from his cigarette and threw it casually at his opponent. A loud scream rang out through the night as the large vampire burst into flames. The British vampire took a casual drag off his cigarette and watched in satisfaction as one of his own dusted in front of him.

Once the dust cleared Buffy got her first good look at the vampire, and nearly choked on her breath. He was gorgeous, it was a shame that she'd have to kill him. Before she could move though his bright blue eyes snapped over to where she and Angel were standing, immediately they flashed yellow and before Buffy could react the blonde threw himself at Angel, knocking her boyfriend against the side of the crypt they stood in front of. "Get the bleeding hell out of my head, Angelus," the blonde demanded angrily.

Buffy's head snapped back and forth between the blonde vampire that had her boyfriend in a death grip and her boyfriend who was trying to wriggle out of his grasp. "Been a long time, Spike," Angel replied. Angel did as Spike ordered and severed the link, breaking the call. Spike let him go and stepped back.

"Not long enough, peaches," Spike drawled. "Thought Darla was dead, felt her die," he mused.

"She came back," Angel replied shortly.

Spike rolled his eyes and snorted, "'Course the bitch did."

"Drusilla misses you," Angel replied, changing the subject. Buffy was getting rather annoyed with the lack of recognition of her.

"I doubt that she's the reason for the twenty four hour summon," Spike replied.

"You're right, it's much bigger than her. The world is ending," Angel informed him.

Spike laughed and shook his head, "The world's always ending, Angelus." Buffy had to acknowledge the truth in that statement.

"Yeah well, this time it's up to us to stop it," Angel told him.

Spike studied him in amusement as he considered his statement. He finally shook his head with a chuckle and said nothing before turning abruptly to Buffy after she cleared her throat, trying to get some attention. "So you're the newest slayer," he said as he looked her up and down.

She glared at him. "So you're William the Bloody," she returned.

"Prefer Spike, luv," he said with a smirk.

"She's not your love, Spike," Angel growled.

Spike turned back to his grandsire, his gaze darting between Buffy and Angel before he burst into laughter, "Shacking up with a slayer, Angelus? Bloody brilliant, can't wait to read about that in the history books."

"Will you stop talking about me like I'm not standing right here?" she asked angrily.

"Sorry, Buffy," Angel said apologetically.

Buffy glared at him briefly before turning back to Spike, to find him gone. "Where did he go?"

"To the school," Angel replied.

Willow yawned and flipped to the next page in the large volume in front of her. Xander was half asleep beside her and Cordelia had left 10 minutes ago for coffee. Giles seemed to be the only one still completely awake aside from Drusilla and Darla.

She returned her attention to the book, only to look up startled when Drusilla squealed in delight. "William's here." Darla looked up in interest and Willow exchanged a nervous look with Giles as the gravity of the news registered.

Buffy and Angel ran at full speed back to the school and made it to the library just in time to see the back of Spike's head disappear. They quickly walked inside. Buffy watched as Drusilla quickly ran over and hugged Spike who stiffened and shrugged her off. "Cut the bloody link," he growled.

Willow took in the sight of the newest arrival. Anyone with eyes could see that he was drop dead gorgeous, and he definitely had the bad boy look working in his favor. Xander looked at the black leather duster that Spike wore in envy. Giles saw the predatory stare and defensive stance that Spike had as he studied the room and is occupants.

Dru and Darla shut the link down and for the first time in over two days quiet filled Spike's mind. Darla stood up and walked over to the youngest, but perhaps deadliest, of their clan. "It's good to see you, William."

"Darla," Spike nodded as he lit up another cigarette. "How was hell?"

"Hot," Darla smirked.

"Saving the worlds never really been your style," Spike said casually as he stalked closer to the table.

"No, but avoiding extinction has been," she replied.

Spike smirked at her, "Not the best at that."

"I always come back," she pointed out.

"Touché." Spike turned his attention to Giles and the heavy volume in front of him. "The slayer and her watcher in league with four of the deadliest vampires in existence. That's a laugh," he chuckled as he grabbed the book in front of the watcher. Giles did nothing to stop the vampire in front of him, he would be lying if he said that he wasn't the teensiest bit scared of him.

Spike leaned against the table, crossing his ankles together and read the prophecy that Giles had diligently been studying. Buffy exchanged a look with a bewildered looking Angel. Dru was still pouting in the same spot that she had landed when Spike threw her off of him and Darla was watching her youngest family member with interest.

He raised an eyebrow and looked up at his vampire family, "The Scourge, eh?"

"You've heard of them?" Angel asked.

Spike looked at him in disbelief, "You haven't? Nasty buggers, they are. Don't fight fair, either."

"You've fought them before?" Giles asked, speaking up for the first time since Spike had arrived.

Spike looked over at the watcher, "Yes."

"And you're still alive..or, er, undead," Xander said excitedly.

"Well aren't you observant," Spike drawled out.

Xander looked affronted as Willow, Buffy, and Giles fought to keep in a smile.

"I still don't understand how we, as four of the half-blood's that they are intent on destroying, are going to stop them," Angel said, repeating his earlier words.

"According to the prophecy we're only a part of the whole," Spike pointed out.

"Which means? It says that we're the key to stopping it" Darla prompted.

"We all have our part to play, being the key to stopping the apocalypse doesn't mean that we're the key to stopping _them_." Giles nodded as he listened to the vampire's interpretation of the prophecy. None of the others had bothered so much as glance at the ancient script.

"So then what do we do?" Angel asked in irritation.

Spike looked at him and grinned wolfishly, "We die."

"There was a time that you didn't look so excited at that possibility," Darla said ruefully.

"Oh it's not the dying that has him excited," Angel said darkly, "It's the challenge."

"The challenge of what? Stopping the apocalypse or trying to survive?" Willow asked, boldly speaking up for the first time.

Spike turned to the young redhead and cocked his head to the side, he smirked when she didn't break eye contact, "Both."

"So you'll help then?" Giles asked.

Spike shrugged, if the world was going to end in a final fiery battle the he was damn well going to be in the thick of it. "Got nothing better to do. Now if you'll excuse me, it's my bed time," he states as he gets a whiff of the impending sunrise.

He started towards the door when Cordelia walked in with coffee and a box of doughnuts in hand. She saw the striking man in front of her and hurriedly set the food items down. "Hi! I'm Cordelia," she said enthusiastically holding out a hand.

Buffy opened her mouth to warn Cordelia when she noticed amusement creeping into the blonde vampire's eyes. He looked at her hand and took it, shaking in briefly. "I'm Spike," he smirked.

Cordelia yelped and gulped before stepping back a couple of paces. Xander couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction.

"Oh!" Willow suddenly exclaimed. "We didn't introduce ourselves! I'm Willow," she told the blonde vampire once everyone turned to look at her.

Xander looked at his best friend like she was crazy, but turned his attention to Giles when he was the next to speak, "Ah, yes. I'm Rupert Giles."

Everyone looked over to Xander who sighed, "Xander," he muttered reluctantly.

"And I'm Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Buffy spoke up from the front of the room.

"Right," Spike said. "And I'm leaving," he said before disappearing from the library.

"Introductions, Will?" Xander demanded after the peroxide blonde had left.

"Well we can't expect to work together if we don't know each others names," the redhead shrugged weakly.

"And he really looked like he needed to know our names," Xander returned sarcastically.

"I think that we should all be getting home," Buffy says, stopping any further argument. "We'll meet back here tomorrow night, okay?" Everyone nodded their agreement and slowly filed out of the school.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N- Thanks again to "shadow" for your review! And for everyone else who has Favorited this story and/or put it on alert =). I hope that I got all my present tense fixed to past, I tend to switch from one to the other mid story lol ;).**

Spike walked through the streets of Sunnydale, thoroughly unimpressed. For a town so evil it was painstakingly boring. He had run across a few vampires on his way from the high school to the local demon bar, the location of which he had cheerfully beaten out of a Chaos Demon, it alleviated some of his pent up aggression towards the species. Cathartic really.

The evil that possessed the town was thick in the air, a dense fog that only one connected to it could feel so strongly. He should be reveling in it. Should be in Sunnydale to kill himself his third slayer, not save the world. He smirked, but then he'd never been one to follow the rules, and killing this slayer would likely result in the apocalypse and his assured death, he'd never be able to try for a fourth if that happened. Going up against the Scourge is a suicide mission anyway, the chances of any human or half-breed getting out alive next to none. But it's a challenge…and Spike loves a good challenge. Even if it means siding with his bastard sire, insane ex, and the white hats.

His smirk grows when his eyes fall upon a tasty morsel in a tiny skirt. Maybe this town wouldn't be so bad after all.

Buffy went through her Friday classes in autopilot the next day, her mind completely occupied with their current doom. Again. It hadn't even been a year since their last apocalypse, the least the Powers The Be could do was space them out a bit better.

Morning passed into the afternoon, afternoon passed into evening and she found herself in the library once again.

The Scooby gang all sat at the large table pouring over ancient text while waiting for their undead accomplices to arrive. Buffy's understanding was that Darla and Drusilla were staying with Angel at the mansion for the time being, something that she was so not okay with. She briefly wondered where Spike had decided to take up residence.

They didn't have to wait long before three of the four vampires showed up. "Where's Spike?" Giles asked, taking his glasses off to clean them. A surefire sign that he was uncomfortable.

"He's not here yet?" Angel demanded in frustration.

"William dances with the stars, gets lost on his way to me. Always, always lost, my poor little lamb…" Drusilla ranted dreamily.

"Right," Darla stated with a roll of her eyes. "He wouldn't be Spike if he actually showed up to something when he was supposed to," she points out.

"Well I guess we should g-get started without him…shouldn't we?" Willow asked nervously. Being surrounded by the deadliest vampires in history was not her idea of safe and comfortable. The sooner they figured out how to stop the apocalypse the sooner they could get rid of the Scourge of Europe.

"Soon would be good. I've got things to do," Cordelia said, irritated.

"Like what? Paint your nails?" Xander scoffed. "Nobody asked for your help."

"Like I'm gonna put _my_ life in _your_ hands, Harris!"

"Enough," Giles ordered. "All help is appreciated," he said with a pointed look at Xander who looks away bashfully in reply.

The three vampires walked towards the table, Drusilla gliding more than walking in Buffy's opinion. Everything about the dark haired beauty screamed "otherworldly".

Thirty minutes into their meeting and everyone was at odds. Buffy's head fell into her hands as everyone argued over their interpretations of the prophecy and the literature surrounding it.

"My William was right, of course. The only way for the white lights to win is for the dark shadows to fade," Drusilla finally spoke up over the noise of everyone else.

"What does that _mean_?" Xander asked incredulously.

"She means that for you lot to win, we have to die," Spike translated as he swaggers into the library.

"Nice of you to join us," Angel said sarcastically.

"Just couldn't stay away, Peaches."

Angel stood up angrily. "Call me that _one more time_."

"And you'll do what? Captain Forehead…" Spike grined. Angel's entire body tenses, ready to snap.

"Now, now, my darlings. We mustn't fight each other or the darkness will be very very angry. Kill us all, it will." Drusilla spoke up, gliding in between them.

"Yeah, yeah," Spike replied, lighting up a cigarette. Drusilla glided away, sad expression falling over her face at Spike's dismissal of her.

Darla watched the interaction between the youngest of her family. She had always wondered if Spike would ever have the balls to cut ties with his sire, guess even Love's most loyal bitch has a breaking point.

"So in order for us to win and defeat the Scourge, you all have to die?" Xander asked, getting back to the point. "Sounds like a win-win to me," he said with a grin.

Darla snarled at him, her dislike for the annoying teen growing. "I'm _not_ dying again. _You_ were wrong," she told Spike.

He shrugged, "I never said that we _have_ to die…I just said that we probably will."

"Thanks for clarifying," she replied with an eye roll.

"Keep that up and your eyes are gonna roll right out of their sockets, luv," Spike teased.

Buffy rolled her eyes at their banter and looked over to her watcher. They really needed to stay on subject. She caught his eye and he quickly caught her meaning, clearing his throat and speaking up for the first time since Spike had joined.

"Ahem, erm were you a scholar before you turned?" Giles asked curiously.

"What's it to you, Watcher?"

Giles' head snapped back slightly and he shot an affronted glare over to the peroxide blonde who merely raised an apathetic eyebrow in response. Willow quickly elaborated the librarian's question. "I think he's a-asking because you t-translated the prophecy differently that any other academics that have read this."

Spike studied the redhead with a leer. She was all nerves and boldness, and interesting combination in a human. He squinted at the group before him, "Who, outta the lot of you, has actually read it?" All was silent for a moment and Spike rolled his eyes. "An apocalypse predicting scroll winds up in your hands and nobody but the Watcher and Red bothers to even bloody read it?"

"R-right," Willow replied, looking away.

"It's not even in English!" Xander exclaimed.

"Yeah, we've been reading the old watcher journals," Cordelia agreed.

"And you pillocks?" Spike asked his "family". Darla and Angel looked away sheepishly, Drusilla just spoke in a hushed voice to Miss Edith.

"Back to my question…" Giles prompted.

Spike sighed, "Yeah, I s'pose I was."

"It's obvious. Only Spike would volunteer to read a book," Darla sneered.

"One of us had to be able to read. You illiterate gits weren't much help," he quipped.

"Nerd."

Spike's eyes narrowed, amusement sparkled in their cerulean blue depths. "Whore."

Angel stepped in. "Okay if you two are done flirting then perhaps we can get back on subject."

"Jealous Angelus?"

"Enough!" Buffy declared in irritation as she stood up. "Obviously nothing is going to get accomplished tonight. I'm gonna go patrol." She grabbed her jacket and was out the door in a flash.

"See what you did?" Angel said, drawn into the childlike arguments that always began whenever he and Spike occupied the same space.

"Doesn't' matter," Spike shrugged in reply. He sighed and sat down at the table right next to the watcher, who shrunk away slightly. "She's a slayer. Slayer's slay. She's not needed for the book stuff anyway." He looked over at the watcher. "Let us have a look, eh?" he said as he gestured to the ancient manuscripts. Giles happily handed them to him, glad for some cooperation. Spike opened the heavy tome and tuned everyone else out.

Hours quickly passed after they all settled down and started studying book after book. Information on The Scourge wasn't as plentiful as they had hoped it would be. They had to go through every book and journal that had even the slightest chance of mentioning them.

Spike tapped his fingers against the table as he read and reread the prophecy.

When night becomes day and day becomes night

The full-blooded claim their natural right

As the impure burn

The Scourge shall rise above thee

Stopped only by good and the Aurelian Key.

Four will stand bound by blood

Spurned by good and absent love

One shall rise to set all free

Aided by the Aurelian three

Slayers live and slayers die

The Future of humankind

Lies within good and evil intertwined.

"Will you stop that?" Darla asked, annoyed. Spike peered at her from beneath his eyelids but did as she asked and stopped his tapping. As much fun as he had, baiting her, his mind is, for once, focused on more important matters.

"Where are your translations of this?" he asked the watcher.

"I don't have any English versions," Giles told him, slightly confused.

"No, you ponce. Where are the watchers journals that study this?" he clarified as he jabbed his finger at the codex.

"Oh, yes," Giles caught on, slightly abashed. "Here," he said, handing a pile of journals over to the vampire.

"Brilliant. I'll take these for now." Giles started to protest and Spike quickly cut in, "I'll have 'em back to you tomorrow, Watcher. Sun'll be coming up soon and I need some kip."

"He has a point. If we stay here too much longer we'll be stuck here," Angel reluctantly agreed. He dragged Drusilla out of the library behind Spike, Darla at his side.

He spoke his suggestion quickly, before Spike could leave them behind, "How about you take Dru tonight, Spike." He didn't sense Buffy as she entered the school, returning from her patrol.

Spike snorted. "Not my problem anymore, you poof."

"You took care of her for a hundred years! Now you just abandon her?" Angel demanded. Darla rolled her eyes impatiently.

"Like you did?" Spike retorted. "Let's not deny what this really is, Angelus. You found her, you tortured her, teased her, terrified her. You drove her bat shit crazy and then you turned her," he paused and smirked, "and now you can't handle your masterpiece. Driving you mad, is she? That's karma, mate. And she's a bitch," he snickered as he turned and walked away.

Angel looked over to Darla, she shrugged slightly. Spike had an undeniable point.

Spike grinned when he almost knocked the slayer over after turning the corner. "It's always good to know who you're shagging, Slayer." he teased with a wink before finally leaving the high school, journals in hand.

Buffy ducked into a nearby classroom while Angel, Darla, and Drusilla left. It was hard for her to face Angel right now. Since the moment Giles had learned his name she'd known what he was, what he had done, and what he was capable of. She was learning that knowing and seeing were two very different things.

Spike's description of Drusilla being "bat shit crazy" was an understatement. As was his insinuation that Angel had no idea how to deal with her. He drove her insane, turned her, and then put her into Spike's care. She wasn't surprised that the blonde vampire had decided to leave his insane sire…she was surprised that it took him a hundred years to do so.

Once she was sure that the coast was clear she left the classroom and continued on into the library. Cordelia had already left but she was glad to see the rest of the gang still there. Xander was asleep, his head lying on an open book.

"Just us, huh?" she commented with a grin.

"For now," Giles replied tiredly.

"Did we learn anything new?"

"Nothing helpful. Although we think that Spike might be onto something. He took some of the journals with him," Willow told her.

"He doesn't strike me as the research type," Buffy snorted.

"I believe that's his human past shining through. Keeping him interested in this will be key, history shows his penchant for getting bored and finding trouble," Giles told them seriously.

"Kinda sounds like you, Buff," Willow quips with a sly smile as they get ready to leave. "Oh! Can I crash at your place tonight? My parents are out of town and with…" she trailed off with a wave of her hands.

"Yeah, Sunnydale just got three times as dangerous," Buffy agreed. "Sure, Will. We'll have a girls night."

"Great. Thanks," her friend replied gratefully. "Xander! Wake up!"

Xander groaned and opened his eyes. "Wha-?"

"We're going home now. And unless you want to stay the night here at the school…which is on public property…" Buffy prompted.

"Right, I'm up," Xander said, getting up and following the girls out of the library. Giles followed shortly after, turning off the lights and locking up the doors.

Buffy and Willow sat on Buffy's bed after Joyce made them some dinner, commenting on how glad she was that Buffy had a study buddy as great as Willow.

"So, you've been quiet the last few days," Willow encouraged.

"Yeah…" Buffy trailed off. Questioning whether she should confide in her friend. She needed to get it out, maybe then she could focus on the important stuff. "You've seen Drusilla."

"Yeah," Willow stated, confused.

"Angel or Angelus or whatever made her like that. He drove her crazy, tormented her for weeks before he finally turned her."

Willow looked at her with wide eyes before swallowing and reassuring her friend "That's not who he is anymore, Buffy. Remember?"

"Yeah, but you didn't hear him tonight, Wills. He was trying to make Spike take her with him. He made her into what he is and now he won't take responsibility for her," Buffy sighed. "He says he all about redemption but…"

"But he isn't holding himself accountable for her," Willow finished. At Buffy's nod she sighed, "We always knew that Angel had a dark past, and we hadn't known how he'd deal with it if it came back to haunt him. The Angel you know is someone he forged outside of the Order of Aurelius. He needs to figure out who he is within the Order now that he has a soul. He'll come around, it'll just take some time," Willow told her friend hopefully.

"Yeah. Maybe," Buffy said, somewhat doubtful. She wished she could feel Willow's optimism.

Willow watched Buffy in silence for a few moments before she decided to broach a slightly different subject, something that had been weighing on her mind, "Why do you think Spike left her? I mean, staying with someone for a hundred years is a big commitment. He obviously knows how to handle her so why leave now?"

"Your guess is a good as mine. They said something about Drusilla cheating on him again. Maybe that was just it for him," Buffy shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess. There's only so much someone can handle," she nodded in agreement.

"He's different, isn't he?" Buffy spoke up this time.

"Spike?" Willow asked. She nodded. "Yeah there's something more in him than there is in the others."

"Even Angel," Buffy confirms.

"Buffy…"

"We should get some sleep. Giles wants us to meet up early tomorrow since there's no school. Might as well get some vamp-free research done," Buffy evades as she crawled under her comforter.

Willow sighed and nodded, "Goodnight Buffy."

"'Night Will."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N- To "shadow", thank you so much for your continued reviews! I'm a lot like you in that I have read hundreds of stories and rarely reviewed them unless they really jumped out at me. Now that I'm publishing I realize how nice it is to have them lol. I hope that you enjoy this next chapter!**

**To "Jen", Thank you for reading and reviewing! I'm glad you like the direction I'm taking this! =)**

**Thanks to everyone else who's favorited this story and/or put it on alert.**

The Scooby gang all gathered at the library the next day at noon. "Why do we have to be here so early on a _Saturday_? I'm pretty sure this qualifies as child abuse," Xander groused.

"Far be it from me to agree with Harris…but I agree with Harris," Cordelia nodded with a minor look of repulsion at her statement.

"This is more important than your beauty sleep," Giles snapped.

"Which you obviously didn't get," Xander mumbled.

"Guys!" Willow said waving her arms up and down.

"We need to figure out a plan of attack," Buffy said, effectively getting everyone's attention. "Giles, do you have an exact date of when they're going to attack?"

"Uh- yes," He replied, impressed that his slayer was getting straight to business. "According to all of my calculations, they will begin their assault next Wednesday." Everyone went silent as they took in the latest news.

Buffy shook her head, recovering the fastest. "Okay, that gives us four days to plan this out. We should find someplace vampire friendly so that Angel and the others can come out during the day. We're going to need everyone to be able to meet at any hour if we're going to win."

"Right, good," Giles agreed. "My flat has a sewer access point in the courtyard. If they run then they could get into the house without burning…too much," he offered.

'You're willing to invite them into your house?" Willow asked nervously.

Giles smiled kindly at the young redhead. "If I don't then in four days it won't matter if they kill me now anyway. Buffy's right, we all have to work together. Whether we like it or not," he said shooting a pointed glance at Xander.

"What?" he asked feigning innocence.

"You're sure that they're coming to Sunnnydale?" Buffy questioned Giles.

"Yes. They're going to draw on the Hellmouth's energy. All of the prophecy's elements are here anyway. The slayer, the Aurelian four…" Giles pointed out.

"Okay. So what parts of the prophecy have we deciphered?" she inquired.

"There are so many different theories as to what certain lines mean. It's hard to know which is right," Willow told her with a apologetic shrug. "I think we should wait to discuss the translations until tonight when we meet with the others. I think Spike may have an idea."

"I agree with Willow," Giles nodded.

"Okay then. If they're coming here then we get to pick the battlefield. This is our turf, we have the advantage."

"What about Hunter's Bluff?" Xander suggested.

"Oh! What about Glebe Park?" Cordelia spoke up. "It's open enough that we won't get _backed off a cliff_…" she jibbed with a glance at Xander.

"It's too open," Buffy replied, cutting off Xander before he could reply. "We need something that, I dunno, bottlenecks or something."

"We'll continue thinking on it. It's possible Angel will have some ideas," Giles assured her. "In the meantime Willow I'd like you to go to the Magic Shop and get these things," he told her as he handed her a list. "Xander perhaps you and Cordelia can go scout out some potential locations for the fight. Buffy…you and I will train," he said, looking at his slayer with pride in his eyes.

**~BTVS~**

What was Giles thinking sending us out together?" Xander muttered as the tension rose between he and Cordelia. They'd been out for hours and weren't having any luck.

"He obviously wasn't," Cordelia grumbled testily. "Sending anyone out with _you_ is torture."

"Like _you're_ a picnic, sweetheart!" Xander shot back.

"What did you just call me?" Cordelia ground out. Fiery eyes locking with his angry ones as their faces grew closer.

'You heard me!" Xander yelled back maintaining eye contact and waving his arms around. They were silent for a moment, then, before either of them knew what happened they were pressed against one another, arms winding around each other, lips crashing together.

As if both coming to their senses at once they push away from each other, each of them stumbling back a few steps. "What the _hell_?" Xander exclaimed.

Cordelia gave a full body shiver. "Oh my god. Oh my god. Eww!"

"My thoughts exactly!" Xander agreed.

"Don't ever touch me again!" Cordelia ordered.

"You jumped on me!" Xander retorted.

"As if!" Cordelia said, appalled. "I can't stay here. Follow me and die, Harris!" She spat out. She quickly turned and walked towards her car.

Xander just shook his head and watched her depart. Like he wanted her company anyway and really…what the hell had just happened. He must have temporarily lost his mind because there was no universe in which he would actually _want_ to kiss Cordelia Chase. So why did he?

**~BTVS~**

Jab, cross, roundhouse, on and on it went. Giles was sweating and panting, exhausted. They had gone through every apparatus available to them before finally entering the cool down part of their exercise, hand to hand combat. His slayer was in top shape, there were no new moves that he could teach her.

"Okay, enough," Giles wheezed.

"Oh! Sorry!" Buffy exclaimed as she watched her watcher double over trying to catch his breath.

"It's quite alright," Giles smiled. "You've learned everything I can teach you."

"What if it's not enough?" Buffy asked quietly. "I feel like I need more."

Giles studies his slayer quietly for a moment. "Have you tried asking Angel? Perhaps someone with your strength and two hundred years of knowledge will help you prepare better."

Buffy's mind drifted back to a couple months ago when she had asked Angel for help.

_**Flashback:**_

"_Hey!" Buffy said as she walked up to Angel who she'd found lurking around in The Bronze._

"_Hey Buffy," Angel nodded with a small intimate smile. _

"_Another big bad?" she had asked with faux pep._

"_No," he smiled softly. "I just thought I might find you here…wanna go patrol?"_

_Patrolling was the last thing she had wanted to do, but it was with Angel so she had happily agreed to go._

_During their walk throughout the cemeteries she had been distracted by Angel and almost let a vamp get the best of her, only just managing to dust him before he bit her. Angel had told her that she needed more training, that it shouldn't have been so close._

"_Well why don't you train me then?" she had asked, the suggestion seemingly obvious._

"_I can't. I can't put myself in a position to hurt you," Angel had told her after a few moments silence._

_Buffy had scoffed. "I'm the slayer, Angel."_

"_And I have two hundred years on you." He retorted. She glared at him but let it go._

_**End Flashback**_

"I did ask Angel once but he's always too worried that he's going to hurt me. I need…"

"You need someone as strong as you," Giles finished gently.

"Yes." Buffy looked up at him sadly. "I'm not ready yet, Giles. I can feel it."

"You'll figure it out, Buffy. I have faith in that," Giles told her kindly, at a loss of what to suggest.

"I hope so," She replied. She stood up and walked into his office to look outside. "It's nearly dark. They should all be back soon."

"From your lips to our ears," Xander joked as he and Willow walked into the library. They were holding a couple bags each that Buffy could only guess were filled with the things on Giles' list. "Wills here was successful. Cordy and I? Not so much," he told them.

"Where is Cordy?" Buffy asked, looking around.

"Uh…we kinda split up awhile ago. She's not back yet?" Xander asks uneasily. Willow immediately walked towards the phone, there was no such thing as "too cautious" in Sunnydale. She set her bags down and started dialing.

"No. Where did you guys part ways?" Giles questioned.

"She's not answering her phone," Willow reported, hanging up the phone.

"Two blocks from Sunnydale Cemetery," Xander quickly answered.

"I'll go look around, maybe something happened to her car or something," Buffy said, swiftly heading out of the building.

**~BTVS~**

On his way back to the high school from the crypt he was staying in Spike heard a scream and decided to go investigate. He'd been here a couple days now and was beginning to get curious about the nightlife. Being cooped up in a school library isn't his idea of a good time.

He walked towards the commotion and squinted slightly, focusing in on the scene before him. A vampire, looked to be a newbie, was about to eat his freshly caught meal. Normally he'd continue on his way and allow the bloke his snack, but he recognized the blood bag.

"Oy!" he called out. "That one's mine."

The vampire turned to glare at him. "Catch your own, vulture. I caught this one fair and square," he snarled.

Spike laughed. "Walk away now, mate. Before you start something you can't finish."

The vampire growled and leapt towards him. Spike dodged the sloppy attack with a snicker. His eyes lit up at the challenge. The bloke quickly regained his balance and turned towards Spike, measuring him up.

**~BTVS~**

Buffy found Cordelia's car where Xander said it would be and her worry instantly grew. The vamps would be out by now and if she hadn't gotten in somewhere safe she could already be dead. She heard a familiar scream in the distance and took off running as fast as she could.

She turned the final corner and ended up in Sunnydale Cemetery. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw Cordelia in the grasp of a vampire, standing opposite them was Spike. He seemed to be baiting the vamp. Suddenly there was a growl and the vampire jumped at Spike who easily dodged the attack. Their positions were quickly reversed and she watched as Spike said something to Cordelia who started to edge away from the duo.

**~BTVS~**

With the vampire's attention solely on him he quietly told the rich bitch to piss off. His opponent didn't even notice when his would-be meal started backing away. Spike was starting to get bored, a stand off wasn't really what he had in mind.

He moved forward suddenly and struck the brute solidly in the jaw causing his head to snap back. He didn't give him a chance to recover before aiming a roundhouse kick to his face, making it twist in the other direction. He was getting pissed off, all the better. He'd like a bit of a fight before he ended the gits un-life.

The vampire yelled out and started at him raining down a series of blows, only one of which connected. His right fist flew into Spikes gut, his left came up to strike again but was stopped mid air by Spike's hand. The blond vampire laughed joyfully and wrapped his fingers around his challengers fist, using the blokes own momentum to twist him around and bring him to his knees. His enemy looked up at him, fear shining in his eyes.

"Warned ya, mate," Spike reminded him before letting go of his fist in favor of his head. He took it in both hands and gave it a sharp twist, taking it clean off his shoulders. It turned to dust in his hands.

**~BTVS~**

Buffy watched in fascination as Spike toyed with the vampire before him before easily taking him out, twisting his head off of his body. _That_ was the kind of opponent she needed to fight in order to get ready for the battle. She quickly started towards Spike and Cordelia.

"Thank you," Cordelia told him warily.

"Shouldn't be out so late, pet. You know that," He told her with a dangerous lilt to his tone.

"My car broke down. I couldn't fix it so I decided to walk home, I don't live far…" she said meekly. He was right and she knew it.

"A stupid, reckless mistake that'll get you dead, ain't that so, slayer?" He sneered. Taking out a smoke and lighting up.

"He's right, Cordy," Buffy said from behind them.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," she replied with a roll of her eyes.

"Well let's get on with this, yeah?" Spike said as he turned to continue on towards his original destination.

Buffy caught up with him easily, leaving Cordelia to walk a few paces behind them. "That eager to get back to the book readin' huh?" she smirked.

"Not bloody likely," Spike scoffed. "The sooner we end the meeting the sooner I can go out and find myself a proper fight."

Buffy pauses mid-step, the wheels in her mind turning. "What about me?"

"I don't take your meaning, luv," he replied, stopping and turning towards her.

"Giles has taught me all he knows about fighting but it's not enough. I need someone as strong as me to fight. Someone that will challenge me. Otherwise I'm not gonna be ready for this battle. And you know it," Buffy stated matter-of-factly.

"On the contrary, I've never seen you fight, slayer," Spike reminds her.

"You've gotta be curious. Here's your chance to see my moves up close and personal," She appealed.

Spike leered, looking her up and down causing Buffy to glare in reply. His expression grew serious and he tilted his head. "You're challenging the slayer of slayers to a fight?"

"Yes. One that will end in neither of our deaths. More of a training session, really."

Spike considers her a moment longer. "Angelus will interfere," he acknowledged.

"This isn't about Angel. He's too afraid that he'll hurt me to fight me, I need someone that doesn't care," She told him.

Spike scoffed. "Bullocks! Angelus is afraid that you'll hurt him, slayer not the other way around. That sod has no taste for a challenge. He's all mind games and domination. Anything he can't win, he doesn't attempt," Spike corrected.

"So I've been told. In that case I need someone that isn't afraid of me to train me…" Buffy tempted.

"You're a manipulative little bint," Spike laughed. "A'right then. Challenge accepted."

"Seriously?" Cordelia interjected after listening to their conversation, dumbfounded. "You're going to willingly fight the only vampire you've ever met that's killed a slayer?" she asked incredulously.

"Slayers. That's plural, pet," Spike amended, but the two teens continued talking as though he hadn't spoken.

"Yes. It's necessary if we're gonna win this," Buffy tells her, her tone warning Cordelia to drop it. "Now come on, we need to get back to the library. Everyone should be there by now and the gang doesn't know that you're okay yet."

The unusual trio continued their journey to the school. No more words were spoken during their walk, each deep in their own thoughts.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N- Thanks to "Shadow" and "Litalove" for the reviews! =) Sorry it took awhile to get this chapter up, hectic work schedule. Hopefully the next update will be quicker. =)**

"Oh good, you're alright!" Willow exclaimed as Buffy, Spike and Cordelia entered the library.

"Yes, we're all fine," Buffy said with a smile at her friend. Cordelia shot a small grin at Willow for her concern and met Xander's eyes briefly before they both quickly looked away. Spike watched the pair in amusement.

"Spike, late again," Darla simpered.

"Got held up, luv," he replied with a cheeky smirk, not willing to admit to saving the chit.

"Not like it matters, we all got here at the same time," Buffy pointed out, taking Spike's cue and not mentioning the incident with Cordelia.

Angel watched Spike as he sauntered over to the table and turned one of the chairs around sitting on it with the back of it was against his chest. He knew that if they were going to win this thing then he and Spike needed to be on solid ground. No more fighting amongst each other. So, in an effort to extend the olive branch, he filled the youngest member of his family in, "Giles says that The Scourge is set to enter town on Wednesday. He's also going to allow us entrance into his house so that we don't have to wait until the sun sets to meet."

Spike looked at his grandsire for a moment before nodding once, his acknowledgement of their truce and replying, "Sewer access?"

"In my courtyard," Giles told him.

"Risky move, Watcher. Inviting the Scourge of Europe into your home," Spike smirked.

"One I'm willing to make," Giles told him deeply. He took a deep breath. "Angel, Spike, Drusilla and Darla…I invite you into my home." Hushed murmurs danced around the room at his invitation and the ominous events that may follow.

Spike nodded, his attention drifting over to Drusilla as she twirled around the room, moving closer and closer to him. He shook his head and focused back in on the librarian. "Wha'?"

"Your thoughts on the prophecy?" Giles prompted.

"What are yours?" he asked.

Giles sighed in frustration, never a straight answer. "I think that 'One shall rise to set all free' must mean Buffy. The Slayer is the logical choice."

"And the following line?" Spike asked. "Aided by the Aurelian _three_?"

"Obviously one of us is dead by then," Angel said.

Spike nodded. "Right then."

"What do you think it means, Spike?" Willow asks curiously.

"That one of the Aurelian will rise. The whole bleeding paragraph is about us. Then there's the whole 'Stopped only by good and the _Aurelian Key_" bit," he pointed out with a shrug, batting Drusilla away as she started rubbing his shoulders.

Giles stopped moving and stood in complete silence. "Giles?" Xander asked.

"He's right," the watcher spoke quietly, almost to himself.

"So what does that mean?" Cordelia piped in.

"It means that one of us is the key to defeating the Scourge," Darla informed her, shaking her head slightly at Drusilla's antics.

"The world will be filled with bright while light as the Key burns, burns, burns," Drusilla told them, a dreamlike quality to her voice. "How nice it will be to see the sun again…"

"So the Key is going to die," Spike translated. "Makes sense."

"You're really going to take that crazy mumbo-jumbo seriously?" Xander asked in disbelief.

"Dru may be completely bonkers but she also has a tendency to be right," Spike spoke up in his sir's defense.

"Spike's right," Angel agreed, while Darla nodded along.

Buffy, who been quiet this whole time just taking everything in, spoke up. "So…who's the Key?"

"I don't know," Giles replied after a moments silence.

"Well…shouldn't it be Angel?" Willow asked timidly. "I mean he's the one with the soul," she pointed out. Spike snorted in reply.

"Angel does seem to be the obvious choice, but we can't be sure of anything," Giles told her kindly.

"What the bleeding hell are you doing, Dru?" Spike snapped suddenly. His eyes were trained on his sire as she tried to wedge herself in between him and the chair.

"William no longer wants his princess," she whined quietly. "She's been very bad, too bad for the light to take back." Then she looked at him with a lucid smirk. "She deserves to be punished…" she insinuated.

"Get off," Spike gritted out. She only clung tighter. He was off the chair and on the other side of the room faster than eyes could follow. Anger burned bright in his deep blue eyes. "Enough, Drusilla," he said firmly, using her whole name. She reeled backwards in surprise.

She stood up tall, a quiet keening escaping her lips and glided out of the library without a glance behind her.

Darla looked at Spike with a raised eyebrow. "What happened to you two?"

"Not your concern," he muttered with a glare. "Are we done here?"

"Uh- not really," Giles replied.

"Good." Spike gritted out before turning on his heel and sauntering out of the library.

"I think that it was more than just cheating that split those two up," Darla stated dryly.

Angel nodded. "Yeah, Spike's never acted like that towards her."

"This is impossible. We're never going to get through a meeting," Cordelia spoke up, saying what everyone was thinking.

"And we're surprised by this? That's what happens when you work with evil insane vampires," Xander bit out.

"When do we want to meet tomorrow? Giles?" Buffy asked.

"9 am. If we get an early start maybe we'll actually get something done," Giles sighed as he took his glasses off to clean them.

"9 am at the watchers," Darla nodded. "I'm going after Dru." She said, sweeping gracefully out.

_**~BTVS~**_

"Buffy?" Angel asked finally. They'd been walking for blocks in silence. She obviously had something on her mind, the chewing she was giving her bottom lip was a good indicator.

"I asked Spike to train me." She blurted out.

Angel stopped in his tracks. "You what?"

She turned to face him. "I asked Spike to train me," she repeated.

"Why would you do something like that?"

"Because I'm not ready to go up against The Scourge, Angel!"

"So you ask _Spike_ to train you? You do know that he gets his rocks off by killing Slayers, don't you?"

"What do you want me to do, Angel? _You've_ refused to train me and I can't learn any more from Giles," Buffy pointed out.

Angel stood in silence for several moments. "I could train you, if that's what you really want," he finally told her, looking deep into her eyes in the knee melting way of his.

"I thought you didn't want to 'put yourself in a position to hurt me'," she whispered, quoting his words from months ago.

Angel cupped her jaw and continued staring deep into her eyes. "If it's what you want…I'll do it." he told her before leaning down and capturing her lips with his.

She came out of the kiss with a smile. "Okay," she replied quietly as he rested his forehead against hers.

"Okay," he repeated.

Her mind raced as she took in his offer. She knew that he was only offering because he didn't want her training with Spike. She also knew Angel's moves as well as he knew hers, it'd be helpful to train with him…but she can't bring herself to give up her chance to fight Spike on friendly terms.

_**~BTVS~**_

"'Nother one, mate." Spike drawled, raising a finger at the bartender who quickly passed him another scotch. He'd found the fine demon-friendly establishment called 'Willys' fairly easily. Demons talk readily after finding out that they're facing the infamous "William the Bloody".

His mind went through the earlier scene with Drusilla over and over again. It was the same every bleeding time. She'd push him away and or leave him, hunt him down after she'd had her fun and beg him to take her back. And he always gave in. No matter how pissed he was, no matter how many times he told himself he wasn't going to. He always did. Except for this time, this time it was different. If only he hadn't repeated that same mantra every single bloody time before.

He'd run into Darla after leaving the school who had told him they were meeting at the watcher's in the morning. He supposed the slayer'd be asking him to train her starting tomorrow. He wasn't sure why they bothered. It would go down the way it goes down.

After finishing his scotch he sighed and stood up, getting off the uncomfortable stool. He still needed to get a spot of violence in before returning to his crypt.

He walked casually through one of the many cemeteries. He'd already eaten and filled up on an pretty little bint on his way out of Willys. Now he just wanted a fight. And he might have just found one.

"'Ey mate. That's my pad," he called out to the large vampire with a very round face trying to enter his newly acquired crypt.

"And now it's mine," the thug replied.

"Bullocks," Spike told him, subtly preparing for a fight.

"Do you have any idea who you're challenging, fledge?" Chubby asked with a feral grin.

Spike chuckled darkly. "Do you?"

"I am called Striker, and I am older than you can imagine. Stronger, even, than that," the over inflated poof boasted.

"Wow, got me. I'm terrified," Spike intoned, unimpressed.

"You don't believe me?" Fugly asked, fire igniting within his eyes. Then, with a smirk, he launched himself at the blonde.

He managed to knock Spike to the ground but wasn't able to anticipate Spike using his own momentum against him. Spike grabbed a small thick branch that was lying next to his shoulder as he flipped the brute over his head before flipping up so he was back on his feet, looking down at the rotund vampire. He landed on his back with a crash that Spike is pretty sure could have been mistaken for an earthquake.

He allowed chubby to get back on his feet before he began his assault. He hit him in the cheek with a side kick and followed up with a uppercut to his chin. His other fist landed deep inside his enemy's stomach, forcing unneeded air out of his lungs. His leg quickly came out and hit the back of his knees, bringing him down to a kneel in front of Spike.

Chubs looked up at him with fear in his eyes, causing Spike to smirk ruthlessly. "Who are you?"

"They call me Spike," the peroxide blonde replied, watching the dead man's eyes widen before taking the branch and shoving it into his heart.

"There's no talent in this town," he muttered to himself as he brushed ashes of his second disappointing fight of the night off of his jeans.

"A vampire killing his own," an accented voice called out from his right. His head turned quickly and he took in the sight of a dark skinned woman in a purple midriff baring top and long flowing black hair held up in a band.

"What of it?" he asked, eyeing the woman for potential threats. Power seemed to flow through her.

"Just proves that demons have no loyalty," she states, her face expressionless.

"Who are you, exactly?" Spike asked curiously.

She started walking closer to him, a stake clutched tightly in her hand. "I'm Kendra, The Vampire Slayer," she told him, a smirk gracing her features for a brief moment.

_**~BTVS~**_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Big thanks to "Litalove", "Spike's Real Lover" (Love the name and the 'second best Slayer at this time' line lol) and "shadow" for your reviews! You guys are awesome! Thanks to everyone else who has Favorited this story and/or put it on alert =).**

**_~BTVS~_**

"Oh, bloody hell. Another one?" Spike asked with an irritated roll of his eyes.

"What do you mean another one? There is only one chosen one. One girl in all the world chosen-"

"To rid the world of darkness…yeah, yeah, yeah. 'Eard it all before, luv."

She raised her stake a bit and looked him in the eye. "Then you know what happens next."

Spike shifted into his game face and smirked, yellow eyes shining with excitement. "That I do, pet."

They circled each other a couple times before launching towards each other in unison. Fists flew and kicks connected, each of them getting their fair share of hits in.

Kendra stumbled back after a kick connected with her abdomen, she shook it off and moved towards him managing to land a flying kick that sent him soaring into a nearby mausoleum.

Spike laughed as he landed on the ground in a crouch. Now _this _is what he'd been waiting for. He stood back up and cocked his head as he studied his target. She had fire, but her moves were all robotic and by the book. There was no improvisation, no street smarts. She was good. He was better.

She came at him again and he grabbed her fist as it flew at him, punching her in the chest and sending her flying into a tombstone, the force of her landing causing bits of it to crumble off. She was back on her feet in an instant, he had to give her credit for that.

Blood flowed down her forehead and Spike watched the trickling red liquid mesmerized. It'd been far too long since he'd tasted the overwhelming power of Slayer's blood. Spurred on by the thought of tasting it once again he stalked towards her, she was ready for him though.

Kendra kicked out as soon as Spike was in striking distance, hitting him in his side and causing him to stumble closer to her. She wasted no time, punching him first in the abs then in the face causing his head to whip to the side. She brought a leg up and kicked him back.

Spike landed on his back in the grass. Oh this one was _fun_. He grinned as she pounced on him, stake held above her head. She brought it down hard, grinning triumphantly. Until he caught her wrist. In one smooth move he pushed her off of him and leapt to his feet. She crashed into the same mausoleum that he had earlier, her head bashing into the hard brick and her stake falling to the ground, out of reach.

Spike sauntered over to her, grin stretched wide over his vampiric features. He brought his hand up and closed it around her neck. "It's been fun, luv. Best I've had in years." He had nothing but respect for the young slayer as he looked into her eyes. The fear in her glare was far outweighed by her hatred and acceptance. He moved his hand, letting it slowly meander down until it was pressed against her waist, she did nothing to resist. Death wish…every Slayer had one. Holding her to the wall he moved his head down and allowed his fangs to pierce her soft flesh.

He savored each pull of her life's blood. Delighting in it's sensuous flavor and devastating power. And then, before she lost consciousness, he withdrew his fangs. Allowing his face to resume it's human visage, he stepped away.

Her hand flew up to her bloody wound and she looked at him in confusion. He grinned, a small trail of blood visible at the corner of his mouth, and shrugged. "You're a part of the prophecy, pet." And that's how Buffy and Angel found them.

_**~BTVS~ **_

Angel and Buffy were locked in a standstill. Neither one of them getting the upper hand anymore. They'd been fighting for over an hour, each of them gaining advantage that was quickly lost. They knew each other too well, just as Buffy had predicted. Every move was anticipated before it was made, almost as though they knew each other better than they knew themselves. Buffy had a feeling that he was holding back as much as she was.

Angel had remained serious and broody the entire time while Buffy tried to lighten things up with quips every once in awhile. She had finally given up and focused on the fight, resenting that Angel had taken her humor, her edge, away. Realizing, all the same, that it'd likely be the same when she fought The Scourge.

Angel moved towards her quickly, ready with a solid punch to her jaw. Her head snapped to the side but she wasted no time in grabbing his arm before he could retract it and flipping him over her shoulder. She used the momentum from his fall to vault herself up and onto his chest, stake placed resolutely on his heart. She grinned, chest heaving, "I win."

She rolled off of him and onto her feet, extending a hand to help him up. Angel laughed quietly. "Well done."

Buffy laughed, "Yeah, that was fun. See? No Buffy hurtage!" she told him, gesturing at herself.

Angel nodded with a small smile. "Yeah. We should probably patrol a bit."

Buffy sighed and her shoulders slumped. "Okay." They meandered through the cemeteries, running into a few fledglings but no one of note.

They decided to do a quick walk though Sunnydale Cemetery before calling it a night. They talked quietly amongst themselves, Buffy was enjoying the somewhat normality of the moment. Until they turned the corner and stumbled upon Spike and a young woman who looked to be about Buffy's age. She was clutching her bleeding neck, Spike had blood trickling from his mouth. It wasn't hard to put two and two together.

_**~BTVS~**_

Giles went through the prophecy and journals pertaining to it for the millionth time. Spike had, unfortunately, made a very good point when he pointed out that the Key was likely one of the vampires. It would make it that much harder to stay on point. Especially with the assumption that the Key would die in the process. One thing that made Giles thankful that it wasn't Buffy.

Which brought him to the other troubling line "Slayers live and Slayers die." On the one hand, Slayers _did_ live and Slayers _did_ die, it could be a simple statement of fact. On the other hand, a prophecy about the end of the world would hardly need to bring that matter to attention unless it was of some importance.

Giles had already gone through the pain of informing Buffy of her impending death…or rather, she had overheard him…just last year. He sighed and took his glasses off, absently, yet methodically, cleaning them.

He closed the numerous books, intending to get some sleep, when he heard frantic knocking at his door. He quickly got up and opened the door, his eyes taking in the odd assortment of people on his stoop.

"Mind if we come in?" Buffy asked. She barely waited for Giles to answer before ushering Angel, Spike and the new girl, Kendra inside.

"Who is this?" Giles asked, looking at the unknown woman.

"That's the _other_ slayer," Spike gleefully informed him.

"The ot-what?" Giles stuttered.

"I'm Kendra, The Vampire Slayer. Who are you?" she replied, her eyes glittering warily.

"This is Rupert Giles, my watcher," Buffy told the girl. Still not understanding what was happening.

"Another Vampire Slayer…" Giles murmured. "How…?"

"Buffy died last year," Angel answered thoughtfully. "The power must have been imparted into the next in the Slayer lineage before she was brought back."

"Of course." Giles muttered to himself. He looked at Kendra. "What has brought you here?"

"My watcher sent me here after he got word of a rise in mystical activity hovering over this town," she told him tightly. Still not sure whether to trust them.

"Your neck…" Giles hesitated.

"She had the misfortune of running into Spike," Angel told him through gritted teeth.

"She's still alive, isn't she?" Spike huffed.

"Yes, why is that?" Buffy asked with a inquisitive expression on her face.

Angel smirked. "Find a slayer you couldn't kill, William?"

Kendra looked down with self recrimination. "He let me live," she was loathe to admit.

Every eye in the room shot over to Spike who rolled his eyes in reply. "That…doesn't make any sense." Buffy said slowly.

"It makes perfect sense, Slayer," Spike disagreed. "_She_," he begins with a point at Kendra, "is part of the prophecy." At the silence that had descended over the room Spike sighed at gave the ceiling a "why me?" look. "Have any of you even tried to decipher the sodding thing? 'Slayers live'" he says, pointing at Buffy. "'and Slayers die'." moving his pointing finger over to Kendra. Then he shrugged. "Or the other way around. Doesn't specify."

"So one of us is supposed to die." Buffy clarified.

"You expect us to believe that you're actually taking this seriously enough to refrain from killing a slayer?" Angel asked in disbelief.

"Why not, I've refrained from killing yours. Besides, I still got a taste," he told him with a satisfied smirk. Kendra looked at him in disgust.

"She's an element of the prophecy. Killing her could cost us the war…" Giles mumbled.

"Exactly what I've been saying, Rupes," Spike said in exasperation.

Giles walked over into his small kitchen and riffled through one of his cabinets until he found his first aid kit. He grabbed it and walked back over to Kendra, handing it to her.

"Thank you," she muttered.

"Of course," Giles replied. "Who is your watcher? I'll give him a ring." he asked. Quickly walking towards his phone after she gave him the requested information.

_**~BTVS~**_

It seemed as though Giles was on the phone forever before he finally came back into the living room, taking in the sight of four of the strongest beings to walk to earth lounging guardedly on his sofa.

If the air wasn't so tense the scene might have come across as domestic. "Your watcher filled me in on what the Council has been made aware of. He has asked me to house you for the time being, His presence is needed in England."

Kendra nodded, "Okay."

"We should all get some rest," Giles continued. "We'll meet back here tomorrow at nine, perhaps we can get to the bottom of this after we get some sleep.

"Sleep sounds good," Buffy agreed.

"I should go make sure that Darla found Drusilla anyway," Angel sighed with a glare at Spike, who's impassive expression never faded. "Try not to get into anymore trouble tonight."

Spike raised an eyebrow. "Sir, yes sir," he mocked with a sarcastic salute.

"I mean it Spike. We have enough problems without you making more," Angel ground out.

"The day I start obeying your orders, Angelus, is the day I walk into the sunlight," Spike snarked back.

"That day can't come soon enough," Angel replied, his eyes glittering with anger as he restrained himself.

Spike smirked. "Now, now, Angelus. No need to puff ourselves up, your head's inflated enough as it is."

"Enough!" Buffy ordered, she'd lost count of how many times she's had to say that over the last couple of days.

Spike laughed as Angel visibly backed down at the order before raising a hand and walking out of the loft.

_**~BTVS~**_

Buffy left Giles' apartment soon after Spike and Angel did. She was looking forward to some sleep. She'd hardly gotten any since she'd woken up from the dream that had started this whole mess. Her mind drifted back over the events of the day. When she'd seen Spike and Kendra facing off she'd been concerned that she'd have to physically restrain the blonde vampire, which could have ended in all kinds of badness.

When she'd found out that Kendra was a Slayer and that Spike had let her live despite beating her she begun to look at him differently. He had control over his demon that she hadn't seen before, not even in Angel. Maybe, even, especially in Angel. His soul kept his demon in check, Spike didn't have that same limitation.

She'd known as soon as she'd met him that he was different, and she'd never admit it out loud but she was looking forward to getting to know the blonde. She couldn't wait for their first sparring session. Even if it meant keeping it a secret from everyone.

As she entered her house she quietly made her way upstairs, careful not to wake her mother, and into her bedroom. She was out like a light as soon as her head touched her pillow.

_**~BTVS~**_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N- Huge thanks to "Spike's Real Lover", "Litalove", "Lisa Jane", and "Spike is the BIG BAD" for your reviews! You guys are totally giving me the motivation to sit down and write =). Thanks to everyone else who had Favorited this story and/or put it on alert.**

** Here's a Buffy/Spike centric chapter for ya! I've had to pace it, don't want the relationship to feel rushed lol =).**

_**~BTVS~**_

"'Ello luv," he said as he approached her, a curious expression on his face.

"Spike? What are you doing here?" she asked, taking in her surroundings. They stood in a small room with red and black patterned carpet and decoupage furniture. "What I am doing here?"

"And, more importantly, where _is_ here?" he added.

"This is a dream," Buffy stated confidently.

"Well then what they bloody hell are you doing in my dreams, Slayer?" Spike questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Me? What are _you_ doing in _my_ dreams?" Buffy shot back.

"You are in a shared dream state," a short man in a fedora and ridiculous shirt told them, appearing from nowhere.

"Why?" they asked in unison, shooting each other a glare.

"The Powers That Be made it so, I am a messenger on their behalf. The name's Whistler," the man replied.

"Bugger," Spike sighed with a roll of his eyes.

"The Powers that-what-now?" Buffy asked, confused.

"That Be," Whistler told her.

"They're the puppet masters, we're the puppets," Spike elaborated.

"They want to see you win this apocalypse," Whistler told him.

"Well then where is everyone else? Shouldn't the others be here for this?" Buffy inquired.

"You and Spike are the only one's required."

"Reason being?" Spike demanded.

"You are the two most important elements to stopping Armageddon," Whistler told them solemnly. Silence filled the room as Slayer and Vampire too this new piece of information in.

"So the Key…" Spike began.

"Is you," Whistler confirmed.

"That doesn't make a lick of sense," Spike muttered.

"He's right. Angel is the one with the soul," Buffy agreed.

"Angel possesses a soul but lacks control over his demon. That control is essential to winning."

"Bloke's right about that," Spike smirked. "Angelus couldn't control his demon if his unlife depended on it," he stated with a smirk.

"Why would he need to have control over his demon to stop The Scourge?" Buffy questioned, fire burning in her eyes.

"Only one who's humanity is united with his demon will be strong enough to destroy The Scourge and save the world," Whistler intoned.

"And my role?" Buffy wondered.

You will be integral to Spike's success. Without one the other won't see victory," Whistler started to fade away. "Work together, and see your future's realized." He told them before disappearing completely.

_**~BTVS~**_

Buffy shot up, eyes wide open and exhaustion lifted. "What the hell?"

_**~BTVS~**_

Spike slowly swung himself off of the solid stone sarcophagus that had temporarily become his bed. "What in the hell?"

_**~BTVS~**_

Spike walked towards the crypt door as soon as he sensed her on the other side. He swung it open, her fist was raised up as she prepared to knock.

Buffy looked at him in silence for a moment. "So…"

"Come in, Slayer," he told her warily.

She did as requested and walked in taking in the room. "Nice digs," she told him sarcastically.

"Does me just fine," he muttered in reply. His eyes narrowed. "How'd you find me?"

Buffy shrugged. "I've found you in this cemetery twice. Figured you were staying somewhere close."

Spike peered at her in satisfaction. "Smart little chit aren't you?"

"I dunno what a 'chit' is but yeah, I like to think so," Buffy replied dryly.

Spike chuckled and shook his head in amusement. "Come here for a fight, pet?"

"Yes…and no," Buffy replied with a sigh. She swung herself up onto the sarcophagus. She studied him for a moment. "You did have the dream too didn't you?" she finally asked.

It was Spike's turn to sigh. "Unfortunately."

"So you're the Key," she stated simply.

"So I am," he replied, leaning against the wall across from her with his arms crossed.

"I wasn't expecting it to be you," she murmured.

Spike laughed. "That makes two of us, Slayer."

"Pet, luv, slayer…you _do_ know my name, don't you?" Buffy smirked.

"Puffy, innit?" Spike replied innocently.

"Ha. Ha," she said, trying to hide her smile. Her expression grew serious as she thought of something. "Drusilla implied that the Key dies."

"So she did," he acknowledged.

"And you're okay with that?" Buffy asked, disbelievingly.

Spike shrugged. "I told you it was a suicide mission from the start," he reminded her.

"Yeah…but it wasn't necessarily you who was gonna die in the start," she pointed out.

Spike looked at her thoughtfully. "What's it to you, Slayer?"

"Nothing," she said dismissively. "So you're still going to go along with the plan?"

Spike grinned, his eyes lighting up. "Ahh, I get it. You're afraid that now that I know I'm the Key I'm gonna turn tail and run," he said with a chuckle. "You realize that I'd still dust if I did that right?"

"Yes," she told him. "But so would the rest of the world."

"True enough," Spike agreed.

"So…" Buffy prompts for the second time that night.

Spike sighed. "Believe it or not, Slayer, I actually like this world. Besides, I agreed to help."

Buffy searched his eyes looking for truth, breathing a sigh of relief when she finds it. "Thank you," she told him gratefully. Spike just nodded in acknowledgment.

They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity. Just breathing in the silence that was, strangely enough, not uncomfortable.

Spike started fidgeting, finally unable to stay still anymore, and peered over at the slayer through his lashes. "Fight?"

Buffy let out a sigh of relief at the suggestion. "Yes please."

Spike nodded and walked over to the sarcophagus as she leapt off and pushed it to the side of the crypt. He turned to her and sized her up. "Lesson the first: know your body. If you know your body, you control your body. If you control your body, you control your enemy's body."

She nodded, Giles had told her something similar once. Spike leered at her, "Do you know your body, Slayer?"

Buffy returned the look. "Come and find out." Spike laughed and did just that.

She was amazing, better than the slayer from last night. She was more experienced, yeah, but she also possessed something that couldn't be taught; natural ability and instinct. She had the fire, street smarts and improvisation that made for the best fighters. Spike grinned, training the slayer was the best idea ever thought up.

Buffy was soon sweating as they went at each other, round and round and round. It wasn't anything like her sparring session with Angel last night. She wasn't holding back, she didn't feel the need to. And he wasn't either, she could feel it. They were giving it their all, she was only managing to gain the upper hand for seconds before losing it just as quickly. He was good, he fought like she did. He improvised, showed her moves that she'd never heard of before. And, the part she liked the best, he was having fun. The grin he sported never once left his face, and she found that her smile was just as wide.

Buffy used the same move on Spike that she had on Angel and flipped the vampire over her shoulder until he landed on the hard concrete with an "Oomph". Unlike Angel, Spike was back up and on his feet before she could flip onto him and win the fight. He grinned manically, reaching out he caught her mid flip and slammed her down against the ground in retaliation.

The air fled her lungs as she hit the solid ground _hard_. She watched as Spike's features shifted, his eyes turned yellow and his fangs extended. He swiftly moved in towards her neck. "Gotcha," he murmured in her ear. He pulled back slowly until their faces were just inches from each other. Their eyes were locked together, their faces started to move towards one another. A strong gale of wind caused the crypt door to creak loudly breaking the spell. Spike jumped to feet and, in an uncharacteristic move, held out his hand to help her up.

She accepted it, pulling herself up. She shook off whatever it was that had just come over them and smiled "That was…" she said, struggling to find the words.

"Bloody brilliant," Spike finished with a grin.

Buffy looked up at him. "So do I know my body?" she asked with a coy smile.

Spike studied her for a moment. "That you do, pet."

"Know my body and I know my enemy's," she quoted, raising an eyebrow. "So why did you beat me?"

"That'll be further examined in the second lesson," Spike told her with a wink.

"Why wait?" Buffy questioned readily.

Spike had to restrain himself from taking her up on it, relishing in the eagerness that shone in her eyes. "'Cuz we're due at the watchers," he informed her.

Buffy looked surprised. "Oh. Already?" she asked, somewhat disappointed.

"Already, pet," he answered as he walked to a corner of the crypt, lifting up a door in the floor that she hadn't noticed before.

"That lead to the sewers?"

"Yup. Coming?" he invited.

Buffy hesitated, it's possible that someone would notice if they arrived together. She couldn't deny that she wanted to go with him though. Then the guilt crept in. _Angel_.

"No, I gotta get some stuff from my house first," she paused for a moment, "Listen, can we keep these sparring sessions between us?"

"Your dirty little secret, am I?" Spike smirked knowingly.

"Something like that," Buffy agreed.

Spike shrugged, "Suits me just fine. Don't need anyone thinkin' that ol' Spike's getting soft."

Buffy smiled. "Great." She gave a half wave before she left the crypt, walking into the sun with a little pep in her step.

Spike shook his head as he watched her, wondering what the hell he'd gotten himself into. He sighed and disappeared into the second level shutting the hidden door behind him.

_**~BTVS~**_

Buffy walked towards her house quickly, she was already going to be late to Giles' as it was. She decided that she needed to change before she got there, it was obvious that she'd been fighting and, considering the early hour, she was bound to get questions that she didn't want to answer. She opened her front door and raced up to her bedroom, her mother had already left for work.

She ran over the events of the last couple of hours, it was good to know who the Key was. She wasn't sure that she was entirely happy that it was Spike though. She barely knew the man, knew of his past more than she did his present, knew his actions better than his personality. All the same she dreaded the moment that he was dust. On the reverse side of the coin, she was sincerely relieved that it wasn't Angel. She wasn't sure she could handle loosing him.

If only it had been Darla or Drusilla. No loss there, but they didn't have that special spark that Spike and Angel did. Angel had it because of his soul, Spike for his unusual humanity. Her mind wandered over to the new slayer, Kendra. Was she the slayer that would die? Or was it Buffy herself? Was that the destined roll that gave the Powers That Be cause to summon her to their strange little dreamland? To die in the process of helping Spike die?

If that happened then at least she'd know, with a new slayer already called to protect the Hellmouth, that her family and friends would be well looked after. Perhaps it was a testament to how much she'd matured over the last few months that when faced with death this time she does not run or cower or swim in denial. She accepts it and vows to do her best to win the war even if she looses the battle. If Spike can do it, then she sure as hell can.

She straightened out her new clothes and gave herself a quick once-over before she rushed downstairs and out of the house. She practically ran towards Giles' house. Getting there twenty minutes late, she let herself inside and held her arms up sheepishly. "Sorry, I slept through my alarm," she lied, subtly shooting a glance over at Spike.

"Right," Giles replied. "Spike was just telling us about a strange dream that he had. He said it seemed real, and that you were there too."

Buffy blinked as they got straight to business. She walked over to the couch and sat down next to Angel. Kendra, who kept shooting shy glances towards Xander, was sitting close to Willow. Darla and Drusilla stood near the kitchen counter, keeping to themselves. Xander and Cordelia sat as far from each other as physically possible on the small loveseat while Giles stood near the hallway and Spike lounged in the recliner.

"Yeah. It was weird, some guy named Whistler came to us saying he was sent by The Powers That Be."

"I understand why you were there, Buffy, seeing as you're the s-slayer and everything…" Willow began, stuttering slightly.

"But why was Spike?" Xander spoke up, finishing his redheaded friend's thought.

Buffy and Spike looked at each other momentarily before Buffy hesitantly spoke up, "Whistler said that Spike is the Aurelian Key."

_**~BTVS~**_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N- Big Thanks to "Litalove", "shadow", "Spike is the BIG BAD" and "Spike's real lover" for your reviews! Sorry it took awhile for the update, haven't been feeling well...and feeling bad equals crap writing lol. Thanks to everyone else who's Favorited this story and/or put it on alert =).**

_**~BTVS~**_

As soon as the words left her mouth noise exploded throughout the room. Everyone was talking over one another, no one voice distinguishable above the others. "Guys!" Buffy called out in annoyance.

"What do you mean _Spike_ is the Key?" Angel asked, hoping that he'd heard wrong.

"Sorry to steal your thunder, Peaches," Spike grinned.

Darla spoke up, her voice quiet yet commanding. "That means you die, William. Stop grinning like a lunatic."

"Why? You gonna miss me, luv?" he asked with a wink.

She smiled slightly. "As annoying as you are, you're family."

Spike held a hand to his heart. "I'm touched."

"You should be," Darla joked back, a touch of sadness flitting through her eyes. Spike had brought them a lot of trouble over the centuries but he was family. There was no guarantee that any of them would survive the coming days but knowing that they might and the youngest amongst them would surely be dust was unsettling.

Drusilla gazed at Spike sorrowfully. She had known all along that it was her William that would be burned up. It was a curse to be blessed with the knowledge of the stars.

Angel shook his head, still processing. _Spike_, cocky, impatient, trouble seeking _Spike_ was their salvation. They were doomed.

"Do you think that the PTB could have made a mistake?" Xander questioned. "Maybe they read the wrong prophecy."

Spike rolled his eyes. "I could leave you to find out if you'd like, whelp," he offered.

"No!" Willow exclaimed.

"Yeah, shut up Xander," Cordelia said tightly.

"Well…this is good news," Giles says, changing the subject.

"For you, maybe," Spike muttered.

"Knowing who the Key is was an important piece of missing information," Giles continued as though Spike hadn't spoken.

"You're sure that he said Spike?" Angel asked, stuck on that single piece of information.

Buffy sighed. "Yes Angel, we were as surprised as you."

"I had my money on Angel," Cordelia said with a nod.

"I think it makes sense," Darla chimed in.

"How's that, luv?" Spike asked, raising a brow in intrigue.

"Spike was never like the rest of us. Try it did, but the darkness could never eat him all up," Drusilla elaborated.

Darla nodded. "For once she actually makes perfect sense."

Kendra, who had remained quiet the entire meeting thus far, finally spoke up, "Your plan is to use a vampire to win the battle?" she asked skeptically.

Giles looked at the overwhelmed slayer with kindness shining in his eyes. "It's how the prophecy reads."

"And either Buffy or I have to die?" she questioned.

"We're not clear on that part…but it does seem that way, yes," Giles replied hesitantly.

Silence descended upon the room as the gang really took in Spike's translation of that bit of the prophecy for the first time since he'd said it. If he was right then either way a powerful force for good would be dead at the end of it. If he was right…Buffy could die. Again.

Willow ducked her head as she ran the situation through her mind. Guilt flooded her as she found herself hoping that it'd be Kendra who'd be the fallen slayer at the end of this. She had nothing against the girl, even found herself liking her. But Buffy was her best friend, and she'd choose her each and every time.

Xander gulped back the fear and shame that threatened to knock him down. He knew that there was a good chance that none of them would survive…he also knew that they'd so far had a good record of coming out on top. No war could be won without losses. He sincerely hoped that Buffy would not end up being one of those losses…no matter who had to suffer in her place.

Cordelia never liked Buffy-not since that first day in school. She'd brought her nothing but trouble. She'd also saved her life a time or two. She didn't know who this Kendra chick was, maybe she'd be as good at the whole slayer gig as Buffy, but she wasn't really sure that she wanted to find out.

Giles allowed the silence to swallow him as his thoughts took control. He was a watcher, it's his job to keep his slayer alive-or at least do his damnedest to give her the best shot possible. There was no protocol for what to do with two slayers. He genuinely liked Kendra, she was a good girl, had even read the Slayer Manual…something that he hadn't even tried to get Buffy to do. But at the end of the day it's Buffy that is _his_ slayer. And that isn't going to change.

Angel sat hunched over as he considered the past few days. It had been apparent since the beginning that the death toll would be high. He hadn't wanted to believe that Buffy could be caught in the crossfire, but he'd forced himself to come to terms with the possibility. Kendra provided an alternative, she brought hope.

"Question," Cordelia said, the first to break the silence. Everyone looked up at her, startled. She continued on, "If 'night becomes day and day becomes night' does that mean that Tuesday night will be day and Wednesday day will be night? Or will it be Wednesday night and Wednesday day?"

"We don't know if that's literal or lyrical," Giles told her.

"If it is literal my guess would be that it'd all be on Wednesday," Spike added.

"That fits with what Dru said the other day," Darla threw in.

"What was it-'The world will be filled with bright white light as the Key burns, burns, burns'?" Spike repeated. He paused for a moment, "O' course jus' cuz they're coming to the Hellmouth on Wednesday doesn't mean that's when this thing's going down. Prob'ly fancy some time to set up."

"Set up?" Willow gulped.

"Quite right. My calculations merely say that it'll _begin_ on Wednesday. We don't know what their weapon is. We don't know what it does. We're flying blind," Giles said solemnly. Cleaning his glasses as he speaks.

"Well…that's depressing," Xander mumbled.

Buffy stood up and stretched. "I'm gonna get some fresh air," she muttered, quickly walking out the door.

_**~BTVS~**_

She walked out into the courtyard, soaking in the sun. There was so much left to figure out and such little time to do it in. At least with the Master they'd had a bit of a warning. This-this just came out of nowhere. And she was facing death again.

Her mind drifted to her mother. She'd have no idea what'd happened to her daughter or why. It's times like these that Buffy wondered if it was really best to keep her mother in the dark. Joyce was a tough lady, it's where Buffy got her strength from. Not her slayer strength-but her emotional strength. She had no doubt that if she died she'd face it readily and willingly. The entire human race was at risk if she didn't. It's just too bad that it'd be her mother suffering for it.

"Buffy?" she heard Willow call out softly from behind her.

She turned around and gave a small smile. "Hey Will."

"Are you okay? It's a lot to deal with," she asked sweetly.

"Yeah, I just needed some breathing room. It was getting kinda intense in there," Buffy laughed.

Willow opened her mouth to reply when her eyes flicked over to Buffy's arm and narrowed. "What happened?"

Buffy squinted in confusion. "What?"

"That. On your arm."

Buffy looked down and silently cursed. It wasn't super noticeable- and if her sleeve hadn't ridden up a bit no one would have ever been the wiser-but there, on her forearm, was a dark purple and blue bruise. "It's just a bruise, Wills. No biggie," she played it off.

"I've been on enough patrols with you to know that it takes a lot for you to bruise," Willow pointed out.

"I had a training session. To help me prepare for the battle," Buffy said vaguely.

"Oh," Willow replied, looking relieved. "With Angel?"

"Uh-well…yeah. I did train with him," Buffy admitted. Should she mention Spike? Willow was her best friend. Out of the gang she was also the best at keeping secrets. Unless someone asked a direct question on that specific subject-then she folded quicker than a pair of pants.

"…And? Do you feel ready?" Willow asked, eager for details.

"Yes…and no," Buffy sighed.

She walked over and sat down on a bench, slumping down as she continued, "We just know each other too well. Every move was predictable."

"Well-you do fight together a lot," Willow agreed. "You're bound to pick up on each others moves."

"Yeah. I just feel like I need something new. I need something more if I'm gonna feel like I have even half a chance," Buffy told her. "I'm responsible for keeping Spike alive until he can do whatever it is he has to do. If I fail him…I fail us all."

"So…what are you going to do?" her friend questioned.

Buffy looked at her and made a decision. "If I tell you this you can't tell anyone. Especially not Angel."

Willow blanched. She _hated_ having to keep secrets. "Well I can't _not_ know now!" she moaned. She thought for a few moments. "I won't tell anyone, I promise. Now what is it?" she wondered anxiously.

Buffy took a deep breath. "I asked Spike to train me. _That's_ why I was late this morning, I went home to change before I came here. It's also how I got the bruise." she confided.

Willow gasped. "You asked _Spike_ to train you?"

"I know it seems crazy, but one sparring session and I've already learned moves I've never seen before."

Willow was quiet for moment as she thought it through. "I trust your instincts, Buff. And if you think that training with Spike will help then I'll trust that too."

Buffy gave Willow a sincere smile. "Thank you," she reached over and gave the red head a hug, just getting rid of that one worry-allowing herself someone to talk to-was a huge relief.

"And he just agreed to this?" Willow asked in disbelief as the thought occurred to her.

"I kinda goaded him into it," Buffy smirked. Willow shook her head in amusement.

The front door opened and Xander stepped outside. "You guys ready to come back in? They're driving me crazy," he asked desperately.

Buffy and Willow shared a look and laughed. "Yeah, we're comin'."

_**~BTVS~**_

Spike looked up as the slayer and her sidekicks walked back into the flat. They'd been going round and round, talking in circles.

"You can't really expect me to believe that you're going to willingly sacrifice yourself to save the world," Angelus was telling him.

Spike looked over at his grandsire with a raised brow and cocked his head. "I don't really give a piss what you believe, Peaches."

Angel just glared at him, deciding to keep his mouth shut now that Buffy was back in the apartment. He didn't have a death wish-not anymore anyway-but he honestly believed that he should be the Key. He was the one with a soul. He was the one who had to live with the guilt and pain of every life he'd ever taken. Saving the world, offering his immortality up as a sacrifice to save humanity, would be the ultimate way to redeem himself.

"This is all so very helpful," Giles muttered sarcastically to himself as he walked into his kitchen to make himself a cup of tea.

Buffy smirked at Giles' satire as she walked back into the living room and took a seat. "Do we have a location thought up for the battlefield?" she asked suddenly. Their conversation from earlier coming back to her.

"Why not the Hellmouth? Angel asked.

"You want to take this big battle into the school library?" Buffy questioned incredulously.

"As much as I hate to agree with him-and I _really_ do-the Hellmouth would make sense," Spike told her, his distaste for his agreement clear on his face.

"How?" Willow asked.

"Other than it'd probably get us out of school for the rest of the year?" Cordelia said, hope alight in her eyes.

"The Scourge is gonna be headin' for the Hellmouth as it is. They need to draw on it's energy, righ'? So why not have a nice lil trap all set up for 'em?" Spike wondered.

"It's definitely something to consider," Giles acknowledged from the kitchen.

"Aright. So we have a possible location, we have the prophecy as translated as it's gonna get. What's next?" Willow asked.

"Now? Now, we get set up," Buffy said.

_**~BTVS~**_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N- Thanks so much to "Litalove", "Lisa Jane", "shadow", "Spike is the BIG BAD", and "Spike's real lover" (Your comment cracked me up btw =D) for your reviews and well wishes =). Thanks to everyone else who's Favorited this story and/or put it on alert =).**

**_~BTVS~_**

"Okay," Xander replied. "Uh-how?"

Buffy thought for a moment before she turned to Spike. "You said that you've come across The Scourge before. What can you tell us about them?"

Spike looks surprised for a moment before pulling his thoughts together. "Their numbers are much larger than ours. They're, organized, militant even. Goal oriented."

"Goal oriented?" Cordelia asked.

"Yeah. Their one and only goal is to take the lot of us out," Spike said, looking her in the eyes.

"So if we're gonna use the library then…" Buffy began.

"We'll have to rig it up so we have the advantage over their numbers," Spike finished.

Angel sighed. "And that's all you know about them?"

"I didn't stick around for a cuppa and nice round of 'kick the Spike'," Spike retorted.

"Just makin' sure you're giving us _all_ the information," Angel replied.

Spike leaned forward, squinting slightly at his grandsire. "And what exactly have you contributed to this little shindig, 'ey Angelus? Your brooding?"

Giles ducked his head as he removed the kettle from the burner, smiling. The blonde vampire had a point, Angel hadn't done a whole lot more than complain and argue the last few days.

"Now, now, boys. Let's stay on track," Darla interrupted, shaking her head at the predictable scene before her. Angelus had never been one to play nice, always kicking Spike around, mocking and berating him.

Spike had usually taken it, not because he had respect for the older vampire, or because Angelus was stronger, but for Drusilla and because Spike never really cared if he won the physical battle. He _always_ won the battle of wits. And now that Angelus was all souled up Spike was loving sitting back and taunting him.

"Did you guys find the weapons cache after you killed the Master?" Darla asked, turning to Buffy.

"There was a weapons cache?" Xander asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, whenever any of the minions got their hands on any weapons they'd add it to the collective reserve. The Master had some big plans in store for the world after he'd risen." Darla enlightened them with a shrug.

"Well, well, holdin' back on us, luv?" Spike asked with a smirk.

Darla looked at him, mirroring his smirk. "Never know when they might come in handy." Spike laughed and shook his head.

"What kind of weapons?" Buffy asked.

"I never added to the reserve myself, but I know where it is," Darla replied.

"Good. That's good. Thank you Darla," Giles said as he walked back into the room.

"Okay, so at nightfall we'll go find the weapons," Buffy planned.

"Uh-just you and the murderous blonde?" Xander asked.

"Which one?" Cordelia muttered.

"I thought we'd gotten over this," Giles muttered with a sigh.

"No, _all _of us," Buffy replied. Xander gulped and Cordelia started to shake her head emphatically. "We don't know how many weapons there are. We might all be needed to carry them out."

"And into what? Giles' car wouldn't hold the weight…of us. Let alone us _and_ a bunch of weapons!" Xander exclaimed.

"Hey!" Giles remarked.

"Do you still have your Desoto, Spike?" Drusilla asked, speaking clearly for one of the first times since she'd come to Sunnydale.

Spike looked at her in surprise. "Yeah. It should hold the weapons. None of you lot though," he replied, studying his sire.

"So Spike and Giles will drive us to wherever the weapons are hidden, we'll load the cars up and then walk back." Buffy decided.

"I'm not riding with the evil dead." Xander said. "I'm with Giles."

"Me too!" Cordelia added. Willow looked apologetically at Buffy but nodded her agreement with Xander and Cordelia.

"Right bloody fine with me," Spike threw in.

"So the living in one car, the dead in the other, then?" Xander asked happily.

Angel nodded. "I'll keep them on track," he volunteered.

Spike looked at the poof and burst into laughter. "Oh, righ'. The big evil _soul having _poofter will keep us in line," he mocked.

"Oh this is gonna be so fun," Darla muttered sarcastically.

Buffy watched the two male vampires for a moment. It was clear that whatever happened in their past was still fresh. She needed everyone to focus if they were going to get through the next couple days. "_I'll_ ride with Spike, Drusilla and Darla. Angel, you'll ride with Giles and the others."

Right away the protests started. Everyone speaking up to voice their opinion. Buffy raised her hands to silence them. "If they were going to try to kill me, they'd have done so by now. I'm riding with them, end of discussion."

"And me?" Kendra spoke up suddenly. The Scooby's all glanced at each other, guilty. They weren't used to having another person to consider.

"Uh-my car's a little cramped as it is…" Giles trailed off.

"We could always take the poofter with us and throw 'im in the trunk," Spike suggested. He shrugged when his idea was only met with glares.

"Oh god, I can't believe I'm gonna say this," Cordelia muttered. "I'll take my car and Xander and Willow can ride with me. But I don't want _any_ of your filthy weapons in my newly fixed up car!"

"That didn't take long," Xander muttered.

"Daddy's got a lot of pull," Cordelia said with a grin while the Scoobys rolled their eyes.

"Xander and Willow in Cordy's car. Kendra and Angel in Giles' and Me, Darla and Drusilla in Spike's," Buffy said decisively with a nod.

_**~BTVS~**_

Spike's leg bounced up and down as he read the book handed to him by the watcher. It was useless, there wasn't any information here that they didn't already have. And he was going out of his gourd with boredom.

"Will you stop that?" Angel snapped, glaring at Spike's bouncing leg.

Spike sighed and stood up. "I need a fag," he muttered as he walked towards the door.

"It's still day-" Willow cut herself off, Spike was already outside. "-light."

Angel and Darla only shrugged when Willow looked over at them. Right after he went outside Buffy and Giles, who'd been in the other room having a quiet discussion, came back into the living room.

Buffy stopped short. "Where's Spike?" she asked.

"He said he needed a smoke and went outside," Cordelia told her.

Buffy and Giles shared a look. "The sun's still out," Giles pointed out.

"Don't worry about it. Spike isn't suicidal. He just can't sit still for an extended period of time without going crazy," Darla told them calmly.

Buffy nodded but went to the front door all the same, opening it and walking out. She looked around, eyes squinting against the bright light. She finally found him a few feet away leaning against the side of the house, out of direct sunlight. Smoke curled out and around him as he slowly exhaled.

She walked towards him. "Bored?"

"You've no idea, pet," Spike muttered.

"I'm not much for the book readin' either," She told him as she leaned against the siding next to him. She sighed. "But if it helps us…"

Spike shook his head. "We've already been through it all."

"Giles…he's the book guy. He and Willow. They don't think there's a problem in the world that can't be solved by reading a book."

Spike shrugged. "It's a crutch. One day they'll learn that sometimes the only course of action to take is to take action."

Buffy was quiet for a long moment. She threw a side glance over at the blonde vampire and bit her lip. She opened her mouth to speak before quickly snapping it closed and sighing.

"Spit it out, Slayer," the vampire said, raising his scarred eyebrow.

Buffy hesitated for a moment before giving in. "Do you think that I'm the slayer that'll die?" she asked, internally wincing at her meek tone.

Spike studied her, expression shuttered, before turning away again. "Why ask me?"

Buffy shrugged. "Cuz you're the only one who'll give me an honest answer.

"That's pretty pathetic, luv," he chuckled.

"They all care too much to tell me what they really think about this," Buffy defended.

Spike nodded. "Must be nice," he mused. He looked back over at her. "I dunno, Slayer. Last night's dream seems to indicate a yes."

She nodded. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

They fell into silence, both content with where they were.

_**~BTVS~**_

Buffy and Spike reentered the house twenty minuets later. "I dunno about you lot, but I'm knackered. I'm gonna go back to my crypt and get some sleep."

"We haven't finished-"

"With what? The reading?" Spike questions disbelievingly. "There's nothing more to research, Rupes. All there is to do is set up and we can't do that until nightfall. So _I'm_ gonna make like a vampire and make the day my nap time."

"I'm with him," Darla said, standing up. Drusilla rose to her feet as well.

"I'll stay here," Angel assured everyone.

"Fine. Meet back here at 7," Giles ordered.

Spike gave the watcher a mock salute before turning and leaving the house. Running quickly to the sewer grate to get out of the sunlight.

_**~BTVS~**_

Darla and Drusilla entered the mansion, which had a conveniently located sewage tunnel in a nicely shaded part of the backyard.

"We'll all burn soon," Drusilla mumbled to her grandsire.

"Not necessarily," Darla replied.

"William will," she said definitively. "He'll burn, burn all up until his ashes scatter away in the ice cold wind."

Darla was silent, sitting down on one of the surprisingly comfortable couches. "He knows what will happen. He's made his choice."

"The only choice he ever could," Drusilla acknowledged.

"Yeah, the only choice he ever could," Darla repeated with a nod.

"The demon could never swallow up his humanity," the psychic said.

Darla laughed. "No, William has always been an anomaly." She heaved a sigh. "It'll be strange when he's gone."

"He's already disappearing," Drusilla whispered. "Fading, fading far away. To burn in fire and brimstone for all of forever."

_**~BTVS~**_

Spike sighed as he shrugged off his leather duster and laid it down over the back of an old worn out chair that had he'd found at a dumpster the night before. He wouldn't be here long, wouldn't be anywhere for long. "Cept for Hell…he'd be there soon enough. But for the short time he was here he might as well enjoy a few creature comforts.

A bed, chair, and telly being a few of them. The Slayer had taken him by surprise when she'd asked him if he thought it'd be her that would join him in death. The chit didn't have a death wish…not yet anyway. This life hadn't dragged her down far enough for her to want death to beckon her yet. But she wasn't running from it either. He respected that.

He'd lived a long enough life, he supposed. Lived long enough to watch the world reinvent itself time and time again. Television, computers, music. He'd always thought that an eternity seemed a bit too long-but he'd also always figured he'd live longer than a century and a half. He pulled out his cigarette carton and flipped one of them into his mouth, pulling out his Zippo he lit up, Inhaling deeply.

Of all the ways to go out, he'd never thought that it would be in an effort to save the sodding world. He never fancied himself the hero type, preferring instead to drown himself in death and destruction. He never quite fit in with the rest of the Order though. Darla, Drusilla, Angelus, they all marveled the beauty of the kill. Delighted in torturing their victims, playing with their food before eating it.

He was the opposite, marking his prey, hunting it, eating it, leaving it behind and never looking back. So-he supposed that maybe it was always destined to end this way. Maybe that's why _he's_ the Key and Angelus, even with a soul, isn't.

He moved to the bed and flung himself down, pushing the intense thoughts out of his mind he closed his eyes and let his exhaustion overtake him.

_**~BTVS~**_


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N- Big thanks to "Spike's real lover", "shadow" and "Lynbie" for your reviews! I'm really happy I could sway you over to my side Lynbie, and that you enjoy this fic so much. I hope you continue to do so =). Sorry for the wait, I had a bit of a block with the whole Drusilla/Spike relationship but I hope I made the reasoning behind their estrangement believable =). **

**Warning****: Mild torture, nothing too descriptive. **

_**~BTVS~**_

Whips snapped against broken flesh, blood oozed from un-healing wounds. Choked whimpers never made it past guarded lips…wouldn't give the deranged gits the satisfaction of hearing his screams.

The lighting was horrible, really. Dark red with even darker shadows bouncing around the walls. Lights flashed off and on in an attempt to disorient him-disorient them all. After all-this wasn't just his Hell. He was in grand company, he was.

He noticed humanoid forms out of the corner of his eye, their demonic visage the stuff of nightmares. They were his captures. He'd read about Hell dimensions in the past, heard about them as well.

He's come to realize that he definitely got the short end of the stick. He would've much rather have started his day in sunny suburbia.

One of the demons appeared suddenly in front of him, jabbing a red hot poker so deep within his gut that it came out his through his spine. His eyes squeezed shut as he kept his screams silent. _Mustn't give them the satisfaction…_

_**~BTVS~**_

Spike's eyes flew open as he shot straight up in bed. "Bloody hell," he muttered absently running his hand over his wound free abdomen.

"Hell's calling you, my friend," a familiar voice said from behind him. He was out of bed sooner than the eye could follow, flying at the intruder and holding him against the wall in a chokehold.

"What are you doing here?" Spike demanded.

"I was sent-"

"By the bleeding Powers That Be, I know," Spike interrupted. "Why?"

Whistler sighed. "Will you let me go?"

Spike glared at him for a few more moments-they seemed to drag on forever to the man beneath his grip-he tightened his hold before letting the man go.

Whistler cleared his throat and began to explain himself, "You've begun to dream of Hell."

"Tell me something I _don't_ already know, mate," Spike said in irritation.

"The dreams will get worse as your days draw to a close. They'll begin to feel so real that you won't know if you're dreaming or awake. The PTB need you to focus on what has to be done and not get distracted by…" the messenger trailed off.

"My impending doom?" Spike snorted.

"Exactly."

"No worries there, mate. I'm already invested," Spike muttered.

Whistler gave him a sad smile and a nod before slowly fading from sight. The man struck fear into the hearts of many, Whistler couldn't claim to be immune to his brand of charm either. He brought a hand up to his still red throat, and yet Spike was willing to sacrifice himself in favor of the world. It was all playing out just as it was written so long ago.

_**~BTVS~**_

Buffy sprung up from her position on the ground quickly. She kicked out at Angel, bringing him to his knees and brought her sword down so the steel was placed against his neck. They'd been sparring for the better of two hours, switching from hand to hand combat to various weapons, swords being the latest. She'd won all but two of the fights. Angel wasn't as inventive as Spike but he was older and had more experience. Her ability to beat him time and time again was beginning to give her hope.

Of course, she wasn't deluded enough to believe that he wasn't holding back just like the last time-she still was. All the same she felt like she was _doing _something to prepare herself. That was helpful enough. For now, anyway.

_**~BTVS~**_

He washed up after his visit from the annoying messenger trying to distract himself from the dream and subsequent conversation, it wouldn't do him any good to dwell on that now. He was a little pissed off that Hell would be haunting him _before_ his scheduled arrival. A bloke can't even find himself one sodding moment of peace. Speaking of which…

Spike sighed as he felt her enter the crypt. He'd been dreading this moment, inevitable as it had always been. It was, as she'd say, written in the stars. He walked up the stairs and met her at the top.

"Spike," she greeted.

"Dru," he replied, cocking his head as he took her in. Really studying her for the first time since he'd come to town. "You look good," he told her. It was something he probably shouldn't have said, not if he's sticking to his guns. But it slipped out before he could stop it, it was the truth.

"So do you, my William," she returned.

Spike sighed. "What do you want, Dru?"

"I want you. I've come to make everything all right again," she tells him smoothly.

"There's nothing to make right, luv,"

"There's everything to make right Spike," she argues. "You can't deny that you miss your dark princess," she said, voice like velvet. "Dreamed of her night and night again and again. I burn in your black heart, you can never tear me out."

"Dru.." Spike sighed.

She floated over to him, reaching out and running a hand down his cheek. It's instinct for him to lean into her touch. She leaned up and pressed her lips to hers, gentle at first and then harder as she fought for control. Fought to reclaim their passion.

Spike fell into the kiss, easily recalling the sensation he'd first memorized over a hundred years ago. Allowing his hands to roam over her as remembered what it had been like in the beginning. Too soon the darker, more recent, memories made way to the surface.

_Flashback:_

_Spike was pissed. Dru had left him back in Prague three months earlier, after they'd barely escaped an angry mob, and he'd been tracking her ever since. Luckily for him his breadcrumbs came to him in the form of corpses. Bloodied and strewn about haphazardly, the bodies pointed the way to her whereabouts._

_He found her, like he knew he would. Like _she _knew he would. And with a bloody Fyarl demon. He had questioned her taste in the past…but _this_? A Fyarl demon? Her bar was getting so low it'd be tough for a sodding leprechaun to play a game of limbo._

_When she'd caught sight of him seeing them together she'd just smirked. Taunting him. And so-like any sane man-he'd gotten violent. Tearing the demon off of his black princess and tossing it across the room._

_It was a mite foolish, he'd admit. While not known for their brains, Fyarl's are infamous for their brawn. And he'd just pissed one off. He could've handled the bloody thing easily enough-but then Drusilla joined in. _Against_ him. And thus the betrayal had reached its limit._

_He'd taken her back time and time again after she'd felt the need to go off and find herself a warm body. His slightly lukewarm one didn't always do it for her. But he'd always rationalized it. After all, an eternity is a long time to spend with one person._

_But she'd never _chosen_another demon over him. Not since Angelus had left them. He'd always tracked her down, found her in some unsavory arms and sure, she'd play with him a bit, but she would inevitably watch in enjoyment as he killed her suitor and whisked her away. Yet here she was, attacking him fiercely in defense of the disgusting creature before him. And that was when he made up his mind._

_He grabbed her arm as it shot out to punch him and used it to swing her around so she went flying into the Fyarl. He saw nothing but red, didn't notice the slightly hurt expression on her face as the consequences of her actions sunk in. She could see it, clearly written out on his face. You didn't have to be a psychic to figure it out._

_Everyone had a breaking point-and Spike had just reached his. He shot a bitter smirk over at Dru, muttered a few sarcastic words that he can't even remember now, turned on his heel and walked away._

_He didn't see her again until Sunnydale, although he had heard rumors that she'd been looking for him._

_End Flashback._

Spike broke away from her kiss suddenly, pushing himself away from her as the memories took hold and consumed him.

"No," he said firmly.

"Spike…" Drusilla appealed.

"I said no, Dru," he said again. "No more."

"The memory haunts and taunts and flaunts itself about. Never letting my sweet William forget," Drusilla conceded sorrowfully. "His dark princess no longer beats in his cold dead heart."

"That's right, luv," Spike agreed, slight pangs of pain shone in his eyes.

She studied him intently. "The sunlight's already burning you up, my Spike."

Spike raised an eyebrow and pulled out a cigarette. "Not quite yet, pet. That'll come soon enough."

She looked at him, her eyes stunningly clear. "And I shall be left all alone."

"Aw, come on Dru. You're plenty good at finding yourself company."

She whimpered, moaning and groaning as she stepped backwards, sliding down the wall until she was carefully balanced on her heels. "Gone. All gone."

Spike sighed and walked over to his century long love. Crouching down, he gently grabbed her chin and pulled her face up so that she was looking him in the eyes. "I took me a long time to figure it out, pet, but we were never meant to last forever. I'm bettin' the stars told you that a long long time ago, ay?"

She nodded slightly, her whimpers never abated. "The stars can't always be right."

"Maybe not. But they are right now. We're over Drusilla. And we're both the better for it," he said, steel coating his tone. There couldn't be the slightest waver or she'd never let go. It had to sound permanent. It had to _be_ permanent.

Drusilla reached out and caressed his cheek again, that rare lucidity again making an appearance. "The only way it could ever be." She sighed, still maintaining eye contact. "Goodbye William," she said quietly, giving her farewell to the longest, most loving relationship she'd ever had before standing tall and walking out.

"Bye Dru," Spike muttered quietly to the empty room.

He rocked onto the back of his heels, listening to the silence that had fallen over the tomb. He'd just done the one thing he never thought he'd do. And it tore him up as it set him free.

_**~BTVS~**_

Giles glanced up at the clock, a quarter to seven. He sighed, the missing members of their odd team would soon be arriving-as long as a certain blonde didn't get sidetracked along the way. He wasn't really looking forward to the awkward car ride with Kendra and Angel without Buffy playing buffer-but this was a time for sacrifice.

Willow and Xander had crashed on his couch, exhausted by the events of the last few days. Cordelia had agreed to meet them at seven but refused to stay and do anymore research, using the same argument Spike had. Kendra-well the girl was a bit antisocial. She kept her nose in book after book all afternoon. Perhaps going over everything she'd missed before she arrived in town.

He'd watched as Buffy and Angel had sparred earlier that day. Smiling with pride every time his slayer bested the vampire. Sparring with Angel could give her more of a challenge than he ever could. Hopefully this would help prepare the young teen for what laid ahead.

Someone knocked two times on his front door before letting themselves in. It was Cordelia. And Darla. And Drusilla. Giles smirked in amusement, a very unlikely trio, indeed. Cordelia didn't look too happy about it either. Willow and Xander woke up on cue, eyes wide and unaware as sleep's fog had yet to lift.

"No Spike yet?" Darla asked, looking around

"He still has five minutes," Buffy replied, walking into the room. She walked over to Angel who was standing next to the far wall and leaned gently against him. She looked so small beside him. Kendra watched the couple in disapproval, her stance on vampires unchanging. As it should be-she _is_ a Vampire _Slayer _after all.

"He better be here. We need his car," Angel tossed out.

Suddenly the door opened and the subject of their conversation walked in. All eyes turned to him. "Wha'?" he asked defensively. "I'm here two minutes early," he pointed out.

"Yeah…I think that's why we're all surprised," Darla told him with a smirk.

Spike returned the look, eyes locking briefly with Drusilla's as the duo silently acknowledged the need to continue working together.

He raised a hand, keys dangling from his middle finger, "All set?"

"Yep," Willow replied cheerfully.

"Arigh' then," Spike nodded. He turned to Darla. "All eyes on you, luv."

Darla simpered. "Well, first…we need to get into the cars," she jibed.

"Good to know your instructions will be so thorough, pet," Spike bantered back as he lead the way to his Desoto. The group slowly filed out of Giles' apartment and piled into their designated cars.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N- Thank you "shadow", "Litalove", "Lisa Jane", and "Lynbie" for your reviews! I know that you're all anxious for the spuffyness to commence (so you should be happy with this chapter) but I just thought that I'd point out that timeline wise this chapter is Sunday night and chapter 7 began with Sunday morning (when Spike and Buffy first sparred) so realistically only so much could happen in one day with all the other stuff going on. But I will try to show more of the Spike/Buffy relationship from here on out, it'll be easier now that I've taken care of Drusilla lol =).**

**Thanks to everyone else who's Favorited this story and/or put it on alert =).**

**_~BTVS~_  
**

Spike drove madly through the dark Sunnydale streets as Darla pointed out the way to go. Glancing in his rearview mirror he noticed that while Cordelia was keeping up just fine, the watcher's heap of metal was falling further and further behind.

"Take the next left," Darla ordered.

Spike nodded and followed her instruction, frowning a bit when he had to stop, due to the road suddenly ending. "You sure, luv?"

"Yeah, kinda looks like a dead end," Buffy added, moving herself up so that she was hanging out in between the two front seats.

"There's an entrance to the sewer tunnels right over there," she said, pointing to a shadowed area. "It leads to the underground church ruins that The Master was stuck in."

"Ah, good ol' batface," Spike smirked, climbing out of the Desoto. He looked behind him, smike widening as he saw everyone else pile out. "Finally catch up, Rupes? Was afraid we'd lost ya."

"Oh, very funny," Giles stated dryly with a glare.

"So where are these mythical weapons?" Xander jibed.

"Stop provoking them, Xan," Willow muttered under her breath.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "There's an entrance over that way…somewhere," she enlightened everyone.

"It's this way," Darla told them as she started walking over into the shadows.

The group followed her, watching as she and Spike took hold of separate sides of the steel chains and yanked on them, snapping the links and pulling the old door open. The four vampires and two slayers wasted no time in walking into the dark abyss. The rest of the gang hesitated a few moments before shooting each other wary glances and following them inside.

The first thing the Scooby's heard as they walked further into the dark cavern were the sounds of fighting.

"Oh no. No, no, no, no. no," Cordelia muttered, shaking her head emphatically.

"Calm yourself, Cordelia," Giles muttered soothingly to the girl as they turned the corner and their eyes landed on the unfurling fight.

Angel, Darla, and Drusilla stood with their backs facing each other as a gang of vampires surrounded them. They leapt into action, fighting with a grace that proved their history with each other. Kendra stood a few feet away from the trio, fighting two giant ugly ass vampires.

Buffy and Spike-well they were poetry in motion. Every move by one was accentuated by the other. They played off each others strengths and weakness' flawlessly, their opponents never stood a chance.

It didn't take long before the room was filled with dust, only the odd vampire remaining throughout the dimly lit cavern. Willow drew in a sharp breath as her eyes landed on Kendra, the new, less experienced, slayer was struggling.

Kendra used every fight style she knew of to try and get the upper hand on the two fugly vampires before her. She was finally able to throw one to the side, it landed on a wall before sliding down. She quickly moved in on the remaining one, aiming a kick at his head and causing it to snap to the side, knocking him off balance. She grabbed the stake from inside her jacket and plunged it into his heart. Enjoying the feeling of the dust against her fingers.

She barely had time to breathe before the one she'd thrown into the wall came up behind her, grabbing her and swinging her up. She tried to leverage herself against him but he wasn't budging. She could feel his breath upon her neck-she couldn't believe that she'd allowed herself to be placed in this position _again_.

Before his fangs could pierce her flesh she felt dust fly around her and she was dropped on the ground, landing painfully on her tailbone. She looked up and saw Spike standing above her, stake in hand.

Buffy held out a hand which she took, bringing her up to her feet. "Thank you," she muttered.

"No problem, pet," Spike replied with a smirk.

Kendra eyed the comfortable closeness between the blonde slayer and British vampire. Such ease shouldn't be present in the opposing forces. Angel she could understand-kind of-but he did have a soul.

Kendra wasn't the only one who noticed their close proximity, Angel studied them intensely, jealousy darkening his eyes.

"Think they found the stockpile?" Willow asked.

"Doubt it. It's far deeper within the tunnels than this nest is," Darla replied.

"Well, that's good news," Cordelia replied hopefully.

"Yes," Giles agreed. "Shall we continue?"

Darla nodded and continued moving with Spike and Buffy side by side right behind her.

The tunnels were dark and winding but it didn't take them too much longer to reach their destination. They descended down some narrow stairs and looked around, eyes wide at the sight that greeted them.

"Wow," Kendra muttered.

"Now this is my kind of place," Buffy said.

"Read my mind, luv," Spike replied.

"Let's get started," Giles replied moving further into the cavern .

They all fanned out, grabbing one of the large bags that Giles, Willow, and Xander had brought with them, looking for anything that might be of use. Angel and Darla started lighting up the torches that were conveniently located on the walls.

_**~BTVS~**_

Buffy looked up and searched the room, she was already on her second bag, the weapons here were amazing. Ancient swords made with a precision and care that she wasn't used to. Crossbows, throwing stars, old fashioned bows and arrows, the list went on and on.

She finished her scan of the room, finding everyone but Spike. She picked up the full bag and set it by the entrance before bringing the second bag to a second room that she vaguely remembered seeing earlier.

Entering the second chamber her eyes landed on Spike who was rummaging through a pile of weapons, throwing anything useful into his bag.

"Gotta hand it to the git, he had a good collection," Spike told her, sensing her come up behind him.

"Yeah," she mumbled. "He killed me, you know."

Spike stopped what he was doing and looked at her. "Batface?" he clarified.

"Yeah," she said. "It was part of a prophecy. That I'd die when the anointed one led me to him," she sighed. "Turned out my blood was what freed him. He threw me in a puddle after he drank from me and I drowned. Xander saved me."

"Spike nodded. "So you're no stranger to having your death predicted then."

"No. Apparently it's an annual thing," Buffy said with a delicate snort.

"It isn't necessarily you, slayer," Spike reminded her.

"No. But it _is_ definitely you. So…I'm here, you know, if you wanna talk," Buffy offered. Somewhat surprised that she'd made it.

"Uh-thanks, pet. But I'm not one for the touchy feelys," Spike told her, shifting uncomfortably.

"Yeah, well, thought I'd offer anyway," she said with a grin.

Spike nodded, looking her in the eye, trying to decipher the connection he felt to her. He shook his head and looked away, focusing his attention back on the weapons. His eyes landed on a shiny hilt that was buried within the mound, he reached for it-pulling hard when he found it caught in the mess of metal.

Buffy, who had sighed after Spike turned away from her and was currently watching the dancing flames of the torches light up the far side of the cavern, snapped to attention when she heard a loud creak. She looked at Spike and saw him taut with tension, unmoving. His hand had disappeared within the pile of weapons and he didn't dare move it.

"Might wanna get outta the way, Slayer," the vampire muttered quietly.

Buffy started to move backwards slowly. "What about you?" she asked mutedly.

"Unless something decapitates me, I'll be fine," he replied tersely.

He glanced carefully behind him and once he determined that Buffy was back far enough he yanked his arm out, cringing slightly as the creaking got worse and the mountain of weaponry started to wobble.

Buffy wasted no time jumping into action. She ran forward quickly, tackling Spike out of the way and sending them both skidding across the dirt ground just as the weapons came crashing down. Spike looked up at the slayer amusedly as he took in their current position. Her lithe body right on top of his.

"Thought I told you to stay back," he told her.

"I don't listen very well," she quipped breathlessly. "Besides it's my job to keep you alive until the apocalypse, remember?" she asked, leaning in just a little closer to him, lost in his deep blue eyes.

"Right you are, Slayer," he replied gruffly, eyes trained on her lips.

She nodded, just a slight movement of her head and, wondering what the hell she was doing, She leaned in closer to him. He did the same.

It felt like an eternity though it was only seconds before their lips met and sparks flew. Buffy pressed down closer to him, ignoring the warning bells that went off in the back of her mind. This wasn't Angel, he didn't have a soul. No moral compass to guide him and yet…

Spike deepened the kiss raising a hand and moving it under the curtain of her honey blonde hair to the back of her head, forcing her even closer. She didn't mind. He _knew_ this was so, so bloody wrong. He was the big bad and she…she wore the brightest white hat of them all.

"Buff-" the voice trailed off in shock.

Spike and Buffy broke away quickly and looked over at the intruder. Willow.

"Willow…" Buffy breathed out, crashing back to reality and quickly moving off of the vampire. She couldn't stop herself from reaching down and offering him a hand up.

"'Ey Red," Spike greeted, accepting the slayers hand before moving away her and turning back to the pile of weapons.

"I-I heard the crash and…we need to talk," Willow said, watching as Buffy helped the evil vampire to his feet. "Now," she said boldly.

Buffy nodded and they moved out of the second cavern.

"I'm getting a little claustrophobic down here, we're gonna go up to the surface for a minute," Willow excused them to the others once they entered the bigger cavern.

"Buffy too?" Kendra asked.

"Yeah, well. Safety in numbers!" Willow squeaked out.

"Wait! What was that crash?" Angel called out curiously.

"Spike lost a game of Jenga," Buffy replied glibly, trying to stamp down the guilt that had started to rise within her. Willow grabbed Buffy's arm and dragged her out of the tunnels before anything else could be said.

_**~BTVS~**_

"Okay Buffy…I know you said you were training with Spike but I figured you meant like _battle_ training. But I definitely just saw Buffy Spike kissage! There was definite kissage!" Willow rambled, pacing erratically once they wound their way up to the surface.

"Wills!" Buffy called out, reaching out and grabbing her friend by the shoulders forcing her to a halt. "I know it looked bad but-"

"But what? You _fell_ on his lips?" Willow asked sarcastically, somewhat surprised with herself.

Buffy shrugged, face scrunching up. "Well…_kinda_," she drawled.

Willow rolled her eyes. "Right."

"Okay! I dunno what happened. One minute I was tackling him out of the way of the falling mountain of metal and the next I was on top of him and it just…happened," Buffy shrugged helplessly. "Ughh, I just _don't know_. He makes me feel…"

Willow calmed down, looking at her friend sympathetically. "Buffy…what about Angel?" she said softly.

"I don't know. It's stupid anyway. I mean, Angel and I, we might not have the most kosher relationship but he's always been good to me."

"And he has a soul," Willow pitched in.

"Yeah, the soul _and_ he isn't destined to die in three days," Buffy huffed out vulnerably.

"And if Spike wasn't?" Willow asked quietly, correctly guessing the direction Buffy's mind was going.

"It doesn't matter, he is. I just-there's a _connection _between us, Will. I've never felt anything like it and it definitely doesn't make any sense," she told the redhead with a sigh, sitting down on the curb.

Willow deflated and sat down next to her friend, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "I know that this-whatever _this_ is-isn't easy for you."

"Yeah well…I guess I've got a lot of thinking to do," Buffy replied. She shot Willow a shaky smile and stood up pulling the other girl up with her. "Come on, we should get back down there. It'll probably take awhile to finish sorting through everything and we only have a few more hours until sunrise."

"Okay," Willow concurred with a nod.

_**~BTVS~**_

The two girls walked back through the entrance to the underground and began the winding journey back down. When they reached the bottom they saw that the scene was pretty much the same was when they'd left it. Everyone but Spike was still in the main cavern.

Buffy shot Willow a reassuring glance before reentering the second chamber, catching sight of Spike digging through the, now scattered, weapons.

Spike looked up as she walked in, expression shuttered. "Lot easier to dig through now," he said conversationally. He grinned when he came across the same sword that had landed them in this situation, lifting it up he took in the sight of it for the first time. It had an otherworldly blue glint to it as he held it towards the lights. "Well that's just…neat," he said gleefully.

"Wow," Buffy breathed out. "That's…"

"What we came here for," Spike finished.

"Spike…" Buffy trailed off, unsure of how to begin.

"We don't need to get into this, Slayer. Things happen," Spike shrugged. He turned back to the artillery. "I think I've gotten everything of use outta this lot," he told her, carefully placing the mysterious sword into one of his bags.

"Yeah," she sighed, realizing that he wouldn't talk right now. "Guess we should go help the others, see where they're at."

Spike nodded, picking up his bags while she grabbed hers, and they went back to the other cavern. Angel looked up as they entered, frowning at the sight of them together. He had this strange feeling that there was something going on and he hoped to hell that he was wrong.

Darla looked at them. "I think we found all the useful stuff in here."

"Yeah, us too," Buffy said waving an arm back at the other room.

"That didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would," Giles said.

"Yeah well…there was a lot of people looking," Xander pointed out.

"Does this mean I can go home and get some beauty sleep?" Cordelia asked hopefully.

"Sleep does sound good," Kendra admitted, tentatively speaking up.

"Yes. Let's get this lot to the library and go home," Giles agreed.

"Spike and Giles will drive the bags to the library, I should be able to fit in one of the cars, we'll unload them while you guys get home. Stick together," Buffy told them.

"I'll stay over at Xander's," Willow said, solving one problem.

"And I'll walk Cordelia home, make sure she gets there safely," Angel volunteered, solving the other.

"We'll hit the town," Darla grinned as she and Drusilla each grabbed a couple bags to load into the Desoto before heading off into the night. Buffy didn't even want to know what _that_ meant.

"Kendra you can ride with me," Giles offered kindly. "Buffy will you be alright riding with Spike?" her watcher asked warily.

"Sure," Buffy said perkily, giving him an assuring smile. "I'll be fine."

"Alright then. Everyone load up and head out," Xander grinned.

They all reached for some bags and, between the eight of them, they were able to get the rest of the bags out in one trip, loading them up into the cars and going their separate ways.

Buffy climbed into the passenger seat of Spike's Desoto and discretely watched him do the same out of the corner of her eye. Maybe they'd be able to talk on the drive to the library.

_**~BTVS~**_


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N- Huge thanks to "Lisa Jane" (I am feeling much better, thank you =D), "Litalove", "Lynbie", "shadow", "Jenny", "Skinny-fit" ;), and "Spike's real lover" (I hope you're feeling better!) for your reviews! Thanks to everyone else who has Favorited this story and/or put it on alert =). **

**I'm not sure I'm entirely happy with this chapter but I hope you guys enjoy it nonetheless =).**

_**~BTVS~**_

Spike climbed into the drivers side of his Desoto and gave an internal sigh. What the _hell _was going on? He slayed slayers, he didn't kiss them. Of course two days ago he also wouldn't have told you that he didn't help them save the world.

He subtly shook his head and put the key into the ignition, turned it and brought the engine roaring to life. He could see Buffy giving him quick glances in his peripheral vision. Bugger.

Buffy waited until he put the car into drive before she opened her mouth to speak, she didn't want to risk him kicking her out before she even got a chance to say anything. He was unpredictable, she didn't know how he'd react,

"Sooo…" she began before trailing off pathetically. She mentally bashed her head against a wall. Smooth, Buffy. Very smooth.

Spike quirked a brow and shot a glance over at her. "Yeah?" he prompted, wondering what in the bleeding universe would make him help her start this conversation.

Buffy was silent for a moment, her mouth not working in coordination with her brain. "So…you know how to get back to the library, right?" She cringed.

Spike choked down laughter. "Yeah, Slayer. I think I can find my way around this two block town," he snarked.

"Right," she nodded inanely.

Spike sighed, knowing that he was going to regret this. "Just spit it out, Slayer."

Buffy looked at him in surprise, she really thought that he'd just leave it alone after her beyond idiotic question.

"Okay," she nodded, growing more confident. "What happened back there?"

Spike spared her a glance and smirked. "I found me a shiny sword," he replied.

Buffy rolled her eyes, of _course_ he wasn't going to make it easy for her. "Yeah. Before that," she replied warily.

Spike was silent for a long moment and Buffy was beginning to think that he wasn't going to answer her. She sighed and shifted back into the seat. "I don't know," Spike finally replied, making Buffy jump.

"That makes two of us then," she muttered helplessly. She looked at him, something occurring to her. "What about Drusilla?"

"We've been over for a long time, pet," Spike replied with a shrug. He looked over at her, eyebrow raised again. "And Angelus?"

"Angel is…" she trailed of waving an arm like an answer would just appear in her palm.

"Dull as dishwater?" Spike provided.

"No," Buffy replied, irritated. "He's…" she trailed off again, face scrunching up in confusion.

"Dull as a table lamp?" Spike guessed again.

"No! He's not dull he's just…different," she finally choked out.

"Yeah, in a very 'special' way," Spike nodded.

"You're impossible!" Buffy told him.

"And incredibly sexy too," he added.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I love Angel, I really do. He's just…" she sighed in exasperation. Why couldn't she figure out what she was trying to say?

"Not what you want anymore?" Spike filled in, growing serious.

Buffy looked at him, a glint in her eyes that Spike wasn't sure he wanted to decipher. "Exactly."

"Well look, I'm no fan of the poof but no matter what's happening _here _you should be straight up with him," Spike told her hesitantly.

"That's the last thing I expected you to say," Buffy mumbled.

"Yeah well, I know what it's like to be toyed with," Spike said quietly.

Buffy looked at him, trying to cover up the sadness that she was sure shone in her eyes. "Yeah. You're right," she agreed. How was she supposed to tell Angel, her first love, that she didn't want to be with him anymore-because she'd met Spike. His evil grandchilde.

"Wanna fit in another fight after we drop this stuff off?" Buffy asked, switching subjects.

Spike didn't answer immediately, choosing instead to think over her earlier words. "Ya know, I take it back," he said suddenly.

Buffy looked at him in puzzlement. "You don't wanna train me anymore?" she asked.

"No, not that. I take back what I said about being honest with the poof," he clarified.

"What?" Buffy asked, somewhat relieved.

"Face it Slayer. In three days I'm dust. No point risking your 'love' with Angelus for a dead man," Spike told her matter-of-factly .

"But…" she started to argue.

Spike sighed and with a sharp twist of his wrist sent the car flying over to the side of the road. He turned it off and stepped outside, taking in a deep unneeded breath of the chilly night air. He didn't know how to even begin to work out his feelings for the young slayer when he was by himself, so being stuck in a small space with her wasn't exactly helpful.

Buffy's stomach finally settled after the sudden movement and she too climbed out of the vehicle. "Spike?" she asked, voice small. Like she said, unpredictable.

Spike turned to look at her, eyes emotionless, defenses high. "There's no point in continuing what ever the bleeding hell this is," he told her detachedly. "I'm already dead, and not of the undead variety, Angelus…he's likely got a few more years left in 'im," he told her, mind made up. No need to make anything more out of this than they already had.

"I don't want Angel," Buffy told him meekly.

"You don't know what you want, Slayer," Spike snorted.

Well she couldn't really argue that could she? However. "Maybe not. But I _do_ know what I _don't_ want," she told him emphatically. "Angel was a child's dream. The forbidden romance with tall, dark and handsome. It's not _real_."

"And you think _this _is?" Spike asked incredulously.

'I think it could be…if you weren't, you know," she told him walking around the car to be closer to him.

"What? Dying?" he scoffed.

"Well what do _you_ think this is?" she demanded.

"Twisted," he replied readily. "This is sick and twisted. You kill me, I kill you, that's the way this works, Slayer. We don't snog, or shag, of have _feelings_ other than 'hunt' and 'kill'," Spike told her, fire making it's way into his previously blank eyes.

Buffy swallowed back the hurt. She shouldn't feel like this. He was _right_. He was completely right. She was the Slayer and he's the Slayer of Slayers. Nonetheless, his words stung. She nodded. "You're right. It's sick and twisted. But it's real. And you know it, whether you wanna admit it or not," she replied confidently, face to face with him now.

Spike shrugged. "Maybe it is," he acknowledged. "The apocalypse is real too, Slayer," he reminded her.

"Why can't we just pretend? For the next couple days, why can't we just pretend that it isn't?" she asked him.

"Doesn't work like that, luv," he told her, calming down. He backed away from her slightly.

She nodded, reluctantly accepting the truth of it. "Yeah," she said sadly. "It'd just make everything that much harder anyway," she admitted, her emotions finally taking a backseat of logic.

"That it would, pet," Spike agreed. "It's better that we just keep to ourselves, fight the good fight before goin' out in a blaze of glory." He snorted, "Can't believe I just said that."

Buffy smiled in tame amusement. "Yeah, the big bad fighting the good fight," she laughed.

"Good thing I'll be dust at the end of it, I'd never live it down," he joked. Buffy smiled although she didn't really find it that amusing.

Her eyes landed on his lips and she thought over what she was about to do for about two seconds before throwing logic and rules and morals out the window. They'd stay away from each other, they really would. Just-not right now.

Before Spike could react she stepped up to him and pulled his head down until his lips met hers. She shuddered as the heated sparks flew up her spine again, every nerve felt like it had been lit up. Feeling _everything_.

Spike automatically responded, shoving the insanity of it out of his mind and pulling the slayer closer to him. This was wrong, he knew that. They'd both just established that and yet-here they were. It was true what they said, sometimes wrong just feels so _good_.

Buffy's hands roamed over his chest, delighted at the defined muscles that were hidden under his shirt. She felt as though he were eating her alive, like the passion was so intense that they'd just burst into flames. He pulled back allowing her to gulp in air, and she groaned at the loss of him.

Spike looked up at the heavens he didn't believe in wondering what the hell he was doing. Her small hand kept roaming over him. "Oh balls," he muttered quietly before turning her so that she was pressed up in between him and his car. His head swooped back down to continue devouring her.

_**~BTVS~**_

Rupert Giles had been waiting at the library forever. And really, he didn't think it was much of an exaggeration. They'd gotten here, put all the bags of weapons behind the locked cage, hidden them out of sight, sat down and began reading. Now he was pacing, getting anxious. Kendra watched him warily.

"Do you want me to go find them?" she asked.

Giles looked at her in surprise. He thought it over for a moment before slowly shaking his head. "No…I'm sure she's fine. They probably just got sidetracked by a demon or something," he told her, trying to convince them both.

_**~BTVS~**_

Angel walked back towards his mansion after dropping Cordelia off at her house. He was tired, maybe he should have gone home and gotten some sleep when the others did. He just didn't want to leave when he had the chance, for those few hours, to be there with Buffy without his vampire family.

Without Spike. He didn't know what was happening between Spike and Buffy but he wasn't stupid. He could see that there was something. The blonde irritation had this annoying habit of integrating himself into people's lives whether they wanted him there or not.

Maybe what annoyed him the most was that Spike was _able_ to do that. Angel had always stood on the fringes, never quite able to fit in with the world. Even when he was human. The only exception had been during his Scourge of Europe days…but he didn't really fit in with them then either. He'd just forced _them _to fit in with _him_.

He sighed, opening the door to the mansion. He listened intently, Drusilla and Darla weren't back yet. He moved sluggishly up the stairs to his room and, upon entering it, slumped down on his bed, ready to fall asleep.

_**~BTVS~**_

Spike and Buffy pulled away from each other at the same time. "We gotta get to the library, luv. The watcher'll be worried," Spike told her.

"I don't want to," Buffy replied softly. "Once we leave here it's over."

Spike nodded. "Even if we never leave here it'll still end, Slayer. And so will everything else," he pointed out.

She sighed. "Fine," moving out from under his arms she walked around to the passenger side. She looked at him, cutting herself off from her emotions. "Let's go."

He nodded, it's for the best. He got into the car and they were on the road towards the library again in no time. _It's for the best_, they both try to convince themselves.

_**~BTVS~**_

"Where have you been?" Giles snapped worriedly as soon as the blonde duo entered the library.

"Uh…car trouble," Buffy thought up quickly.

"Got a flat halfway here," Spike backed her up.

"Oh," Giles said, taking them for their words and visibly deflating with relief. "Got it fixed then?" Giles asked Spike.

"'Course. Been changing tires since they were invented," Spike smirked.

"Right," Giles nodded.

"There are a few more bags in the car," Buffy said, changing the subject. She started walking back out of the library after placing the bag that she'd already brought in on the floor.

Between the four of them the Desoto was soon unloaded. "Alright, I'll take Kendra back to my place. Do you need a ride Buffy?" Giles asked, wondering what her plans were.

"Uh-I'll just walk home. Do a little patrolling on the way," she responded.

"Right then. Goodnight," the watcher said kindly, walking out of the library with Kendra in tow.

Spike shifted uncomfortably, he really should have left as soon as his car was emptied. "I should get back to my crypt, sun'll be out 'fore too much longer," he said, moving to leave.

"Wait!" Buffy called out, stopping him dead in his tracks. _Now what?_ she wondered. "Um, listen I know that we're ending this or whatever but you're still gonna train me right?" she asked hesitantly.

Spike glanced back at her over his shoulder. "Yeah, pet. I can do that," he replied somewhat reluctant.

Buffy shot him a wide grin that had him falling even further into the white abyss that was swallowing him whole. "Great! Thanks," she said sincerely. He was still her best shot at getting prepared for The Scourge.

Spike started to leave again before sighing and turning back to her once more. "You're not gonna tell Angel about his are you, Slayer?"

"The fighting or the kissing?" she asked.

"Both, either," the vampire replied.

"No. I think it's best that we keep everyone focused," she replied practically.

"Good," Spike nodded, managing to leave the library this time. Buffy watched him go and sighed. She was so screwed.

_**~BTVS~**_

Buffy walked into her house, thankful that her mother was out of town. Using the front door was so much more convenient than sneaking in through her window. When Joyce had told her that there was an exciting conference on ancient artifacts in Los Angeles Buffy had encouraged her to go. It would be lasting until the end of the week, by the time Joyce got back the world would either have already been saved or it really wouldn't matter.

She replayed the last hour or so she spent with Spike over and over in her mind. She was insane, of that she was sure. Maybe it wasn't Angelus that had driven Drusilla mad after all. Maybe it was the intense feelings that being around Spike provoked. Though, she had a feeling that her feelings towards Spike were very different than the crazy vampire's.

They had agreed to keep it strictly business from here on out. No more secret make out sessions or long meaningful glances-or even brief longing glances. They couldn't afford for someone else to catch on. Willow, she could trust. Everyone else-it's just too risky.

She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a slice of leftover pizza out of the fridge, moving over to the kitchen counter. she only hoped that she'd be capable of keeping it professional between them. Because when he was around she really couldn't control herself. She sighed and let her head fall against the counter and groaned. What was she going to do?

_**~BTVS~**_


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N- Huge Thanks to "shadow", "Skinny-fit", "Lynbie", "Spike's real lover", "Litalove", "kristendotcom", and "Embers and Flame" for your reviews! You guys are all awesome =). Thanks to everyone else who has Favorited this story and/or put it on alert =). **

**Warning: Mentions of torture.**

_**~BTVS~**  
_

_Monday Morning._

The sun shone brightly through her curtain windows causing light to spill onto her honey blonde hair, she groaned and turned over to escape it. She definitely didn't want to wake up from this dream.

They sat across from each other on the sarcophagus with a bottle of scotch between them, each holding a hand of cards. Spike poured another shot for each of them and Buffy knocked it back, making the most hilarious face afterwards. Spike couldn't help but smirk at her.

It didn't take long before the cards were forgotten and the bottle was knocked over (Something that Spike had started to protest before Buffy quickly shut him up). She was practically on his lap now, connected at the lips, clothes began to get peeled off.

Buffy broke the kiss and began to lean back and take a good long look at the vampire before her. Spike opened his mouth to say something but all that came out was a strange "BEEP".

"What?" Buffy asked, confused. Her head snapped to the side when she heard the beeping again. She shot straight up in bed.

"Damn," she muttered. Of course she's never awoken by her alarm clock when she's having a _bad_ dream.

_**~BTVS~**_

It was the same as before. Whips cracking, blood dripping, skewers skewering. But he never made a sound, it was a game now. A challenge to himself, how long could he go without breaking? He scoffed inside his head. He's William the Bloody, Spike, The Slayer of Slayers. He didn't _break_.

That was what spurred him on, that thought was his light, his salvation. Sometimes Buffy would enter his mind…okay, more times than not Buffy would enter his mind. She helped too, helped him survive, helped him not give in to the pain.

"Don't give up, Spike," she'd say. "I'm coming for you."

A pipe dream. That's all it was, he was in Hell…the Slayer…the slayer would never come for him here. This is the place where the damned come to die a million times over. No place for a champion of good. It was the only place that Spike could ever end up. It was in the cards for him from the moment he was turned.

He woke up at the same time as before, right as he spine gave way to the burning piece of steel. If his heart could beat it'd be going a million miles a minute. If he could sweat then he'd be drenched with it.

He shook off the remnants of the dream and slid out of bed, pulling on a pair of jeans. He looked around, relieved when he didn't see the Powers That Be's pet anywhere in sight. He grabbed some blood out of the fridge. He'd ripped the hospital off last night after he'd left Buffy in the library before going home. Hunting wasn't very practical now that every moment of the night was being stolen by the, what do they call themselves? The Scooby's.

Drinking the red liquid he moved upstairs and carefully peeked out the crypt door. It was mid afternoon, the watcher and teens would be in school right now. He finished his breakfast and headed back downstairs, put a shirt on and disappeared into the sewers below. He needed a drink.

_**~BTVS~**_

If there were any time that missing school should be deemed okay it was during an apocalypse. Buffy sighed, grabbing the teachers attention.

"Buffy?" he called out.

"Huh?" the slayer replied, completely lost.

"I'm sorry, are we boring you?" he replied snidely.

_Yeah, pretty much_. Is what she wanted to say. That or, _Sorry, Mr. Jensen, I'm just distracted by our impending doom_. But she'd probably just get sent to Snyder for that. "No sorry, I'm just not feeling well today," she lied.

Luckily Willow came to her rescue and answered whatever the question was before Jensen could question her anymore.

As soon as the bell rang she was out of her seat, headed out the door and towards the library with Willow and Xander following close behind. Thank god she'd made it though the day.

"Hey Giles," she greeted. "Cordelia," she nodded, somewhat surprised that the cheerleader was already there.

"Hello everyone," Giles greeted.

"Hey G-man!" Xander exclaimed, watching in amusement as the librarian cringed.

"Don't call me that," he replied with a glare. Willow laughed at the pair and headed to the table, sitting down in front of one of the computers.

"So now that we have the weapons what are we going to do with them?" Cordelia asked after awhile. They'd been talking about various apocalypse related topics for the last hour or so.

"We'll set them up Tuesday night, I'll lock the doors up so no one can get in afterwards. We don't know when The Scourge will arrive in town," Giles replied.

"You mean we might have to do the school thing on what could possibly be out last day on earth?" Xander whined.

"Yeah, that's just cruel, Giles," Buffy agreed with a nod. Giles just rolled his eyes.

"So…we have the weapons, the plan, and all the other pieces of the puzzle. What now?" Willow wondered.

"Buffy, you know that demon bar, "Willy's"?" Giles asked.

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, They don't like me so much there," she grinned.

"I think you should go talk to some of the…patrons. Maybe they have details on a time that The Scourge will arrive," the watcher said with a shrug.

"Sure," Buffy agreed. She always had fun going to Willy's and beating information out of the less cooperative demon population.

"The rest of you should do your homework," the librarian said.

"What?" Xander exclaimed. "Why does Buffy get to do the fun stuff?" Buffy heard him complain as she left them behind. Her grinned widened, she loved her friends.

_**~BTVS~**_

It didn't take her long to get to Willy's Place, she entered and looked around in astonishment. For the first time since she'd found the place it was _empty._ It was kind of a sad sight. Willy stood behind the bar, packing some things around.

"Going out of business?" she asked, snarkily.

He looked up, alarmed. "Oh! Slayer! Hey there, how's it goin'?" he asked nervously.

"I seem to be better than you," she quipped. "What's wrong? You're customers get tired of being ratted out?" she smirked.

She tried to hide her jump of surprise when a familiar voice spoke up behind her, "They all got the hell outta dodge as fast as they could. Not that it matters, poor sods will likely end up dead anyway," he said with a bitter laugh.

She turned quickly. "Spike," she said in surprise. He was hidden in the shadows which is why she hadn't spotted him when she first walked in.

"Slayer," he nodded. He had a bottle of scotch that was already almost empty in front of him.

"I'm headin' out too, Slayer. You should think about doin' the same," Willy spoke up from behind her.

"If we can't stop them then you're dead anyway, Willy," she told the man as she turned back to him.

"Then I hope you stop them, I'm still leavin'."

"Wait!" she called out. "Any news on when they're arriving?"

"Wednesday," Willy told her, readily handing out information for the first time since she'd met him.

"We know that. What _time_?"

"Dunno. Sorry, Buffy," the bartender shrugged apologetically. To Spike he said, "Take as much as you like, man. It's on the house," before scurrying out.

"Ta," Spike muttered, raising a glass towards the spot where he had last stood.

Buffy sighed and slipped onto the bench across from Spike. "You drink all of that?"

"Not yet," Spike replied as he glanced at the bottle that still had another shot or two left in it.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "You okay?" she asked.

""M jus' peachy, Slayer," he replied with false cheerfulness.

"Ri-igh," she said disbelievingly. She sighed again. "Is this about last night?"

"Nope," he replied.

"Well then?" she pushed. She lowered her eyes, feeling bad all the sudden. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't push it. It's just…It's about the prophecy isn't it?"

Spike shrugged. "It is what it is."

"I know this won't mean anything to you but…you're doing a good thing. We-I-will never forget your sacrifice," she said quietly. She conjured up a smile then. "Assuming I don't die too," she laughed.

Spike shook his head, not finding her amusing. He didn't say anything, just took another swig from the bottle, trying to drink away the lingering images from his dream.

He didn't believe that they were actually dreams though, it felt more like his consciousness was traveling to Hell while his body slept. It beckoned him, unable to wait a couple more days to get a taste of him.

"Spike?" Buffy's voice filtered into his ears.

She looked at him in concern, he hadn't heard a word that she'd just said. "Spill," she demands.

"Nothing to spill, pet," he replied with a shrug.

"I don't believe you," she told him.

Spike glared at her, fire lighting up his formerly dull eyes. "I don't care," he spat out.

Buffy's head snapped back and she was unable to stop the hurt from showing in her eyes. It was Spike's turn to sigh before looking away from her and back at his emptying bottle. He was too stubborn to apologize though. It really wasn't any of her bloody business.

"Sorry," she mumbled, making him feel even worse.

"Don't be," he muttered. "I jus' don't wanna talk about it is all."

"Okay," Buffy acknowledged, letting it drop. "We're-uh-gonna set the weapons up in the library tomorrow night. Giles wants up to meet up at his place tonight to go over it," she told him.

"Nightfall?" he asked.

"Yeah, nightfall," she confirmed.

_**~BTVS~**_

Xander was not happy about being ordered to do his schoolwork. They were in the middle of an apocalypse! Homework wouldn't matter if they all died, and even if they lived it'd probably get burned up in the process of saving the world anyway.

Here he was, nonetheless, up in the stacks looking for one of the many books he needed. He turned with a grin as soon as he heard her approaching.

Her lips were pressed against his as soon as he had turned fully. He still didn't know what the hell they were doing but, for some reason, they just couldn't stay away from each other.

"We can't keep doing this," she muttered against his lips.

"So stop jumping me," he cracked.

"Me?" she said, moving away from him. "_You're_ the one that did the little head nod telling me to come up here," Cordelia replied.

"You're the one who followed me up," Xander pointed out with a smirk.

"Whatever, Harris. Just shut up and kiss me," she demanded, leaning back into him.

His arms circled around her, he'd follow that order.

_**~BTVS~**_

They'd been sitting in silence for quite awhile. Finally Buffy couldn't take it anymore and spoke up. "We still have a few hours before we have to be at Giles'. Wanna fight?"

Spike looked at her and shrugged. "Sure," he agreed. "There's a back room we can use," he tells her,

"Great," she grinned.

He stood up gracefully and led the way, they pushed a few random pieces of furniture out of the way to clear a large enough space for them.

Buffy wasted no time jumping into action. She was ready to fight, maybe bring him out of his funk a little bit. Her fist connected with his cheek and again with his rock hard abs, it probably hurt her more than it did him. She swung her leg up in a roundhouse kick, aiming for his face again.

He caught her leg just before it struck and pushed it down. She landed back on it hard. Pain jolting up her leg and into her spine. She shook it off but not before he landed a few punches of his own. She brought her arms up to protect her stomach from his assault, moving her head forward quickly, it connected with his.

They both bounced back from each other, briefly bringing a hand to their heads. Spike recovered quickly, jumping up and extending his right leg. He turned it just before in connected and sent her flying backwards into a wall.

Buffy slumped to the ground and winced as Spike quickly moved over to her, grabbed her neck in a fist and raised her up, leaning in with fangs extended.

Buffy groaned, "You win," she said, defeated.

"That was better than last time, though," he assured her, letting go of her. "Lesson the second: anticipate your enemy's moves. Come at me again."

So she did. She already knew her body, now she's eager to learn his. She jumped at him, grabbing his neck in a flying scissor kick and twisting her body to bring him down. He expertly rolled to his feet as soon as he touched ground though and was soon on top of her, effectively pinning her to the ground.

"Gotta wear me out before you use that one, Slayer," he grinned.

"Ugh," she replied unintelligently, staring up into his cerulean eyes. She watched as his eyes flickered over to her lips before he sighed and forced himself to look away, getting off of her. He held out a hand and brought her to her feet.

"Again," he said, taking position for the third time.

_**~BTVS~**_


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N- Huge Thanks to "shadow", "Lynbie", "lil-leti", "napa2010", "Spike's real lover", and "Skinny-fit" for your reviews! Thanks to everyone else who has Favorited this story and/or put it on alert! **

**Sorry for the loooong wait, I've been pretty busy this last week. Hopefully I'll be quicker with the next updates =).**

_**~BTVS~**_

She looked into his eyes as he hovered above her, she wouldn't have been able to tell that he was enjoying himself except for the grin that glimmered in his dark blue eyes. She met his eyes and her smirk grew, encompassing her face. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, they were having fun.

He stood up and held out his hand to her. She accepted it with a grin and he dragged her to her feet.

"Getting' better, luv," Spike told her.

"I have a good teacher," Buffy smirked. Yeah, it's an old, abused, cliché line. But, ya know, there's that other one too-clichés become clichés for a reason.

She hadn't managed to beat him yet, even when using every dirty trick she knew, but she was lasting longer and longer every fight.

Unlike when she sparred with Angel, Spike told her what she was doing wrong and showed her how to fix it. It was not only helpful but it made her more confident in herself.

Spike watched her quietly for a couple seconds, she was getting better. He contained a snicker when he thought of some of the moves he's sure she considers "dirty". Truth of it is, for every "dirty" move she has, he has ten more. An advantage of immortality.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts of her, he has to if he's going to stay away. "I'm gonna grab another drink before we head to the watcher's," he told her, heading back into the main bar.

"Another one?" Buffy asked, he'd already gone through several bottles in the few hours she'd been there. "I'm amazed you can still walk in a straight line," she joked, following him.

"Vampire metabolism, pet," Spike grinned. He held up a bottle of whiskey in salute and sat one of the barstools. "'Sides, it's on the house."

Buffy laughed and sat down next to him, wishing that she didn't crave the closeness.

_**~BTVS~**_

Their walk over to Giles' was mostly silent, they'd left Willy's as soon as it was dark enough for Spike to go outside. He'd convinced her to try a shot of the whiskey. Never again.

Spike grinned as the disgusted look on Buffy's face stayed in place even after they left the bar. "C'mon slayer, it wasn't _that _bad."

"Was too," was her pathetic reply. She rolled her eyes at her lack of ability to come up with a good retort.

Spike just chuckled and shook his head. He looked up as the watcher's pad loomed in front of them. He reached out and turned the handle, the both of them walking in.

Giles looked up in surprise as his slayer walked in with Spike, then he checked his watch before looking back at the blonde vampire, who was now staring at him amusedly.

"You're fifteen minutes early," Giles informed them. "I think I may die of shock," he said dryly, looking at Spike.

Buffy grinned, she guessed that it is odd for Spike to be here on time, let alone early. "No one else yet?"

"Just us," Willow and Xander said in unison. One inside the kitchen, the other lounging on the couch.

"Kendra's asleep in the guest room," Giles added.

They all sat down on the couches, Willow bringing them a plate of snacks from the kitchen.

The next twenty minutes were fun and easy and felt like old times, even with Spike being there with them. For that twenty minutes there wasn't an apocalypse looming over their heads, Buffy wasn't in some bizarre love triangle, Spike wasn't dying, and Xander didn't have his usual hatred towards anything not-quite-living.

"So Angelus was fighin' one of his fledges-keep in mind the bloke was a vampire for about three weeks compared to the poofs hundred years- and just as Angelus went to kick the guy in the head his other foot came out from under him and he slipped on a soda can. Went down hard enough to make the ground shake," Spike was telling them with a smirk. "The fledge came at him with a stake, only reason the pillock isn't dust is 'cuz Darla intervened," he said, finishing his story.

Xander leaned against the back of the couch in laughter, Willow was torn between watching Buffy for her reaction or giving in to the giggles that were bubbling up inside of her. Buffy caught her friends eyes and smirked, her eyes shining with laughter.

Giles chuckled along with the. "The way you tell it, it's a wonder Angelus survived long enough to get a soul."

Spike rolled his eyes. "Angelus gets by with manipulation and seduction. That's the easy way. Much harder to kill a man who fights back."

"I suppose so," Giles accepts.

Xander finally collected himself and looked at Buffy who, he now notices, is extremely close to the unsouled blonde. He wasn't as stupid as he makes himself out to be. Especially not when he's in the same situation. He knew enough about his behavior around Cordelia and hers around him to know an illicit affair when he saw one.

Only problem was that he found himself _liking_ Spike. And Xander doesn't like vampires, even the souled ones. There's just something about Spike's easy going attitude that made them all feel-at ease.

Xander barely suppressed his chuckle as realization dawns on him. Angel isn't the only one who uses manipulation to "get by". Spike's just better at it-possibly even slightly unaware of it. He looked up as the door opened, "Speak of the devil," he said out loud.

_**~BTVS~**_

The first thing that Angel noticed as he walked into Giles' apartment was how close together Buffy and Spike were sitting. The ease between them, between the entire group in the living room, made him uncomfortable.

He looked over at Darla, who stood at his side looking at the blonde duo with a knowing smirk. She looked at him, meeting his eyes and her smirk widened. He wasn't the only one that thought something was up.

_**~BTVS~**_

Buffy shifted a little as Angel walked in, moving further away from Spike. She tried to hide the guilt that she's sure gleamed in her eyes. She was still struggling with the decision of whether to tell Angel about Spike or not. She didn't want to hurt Angel-but-wasn't her omission hurtful too?

She conjured a smile to throw at him and greeted all of them as they filed in. As if sensing their presence, which actually she probably could, Kendra emerged from the hallway, taking a seat next to Willow.

"No Cordelia?" Buffy asked.

"She said that she was needed at home tonight," Xander shrugged. Everyone accepted this, save for Spike who looked at him like he knew something that he shouldn't.

Then it hits Xander like a pile of bricks, if he can tell something is up with _them_-then they'd probably be able to tell that something is up with _him._ Great.

Angel decided to stay standing, unsure of where to sit. There were a lot of hostile zones in the apartment. Darla and Drusilla made themselves at home, sharing an armchair.

"We found a large assortment of daggers and swords while going through the Masters stock, those are helpful for melee battles, what are more interesting are the range weapons," Giles told them, getting straight to business.

"Such as?" Angel asked curiously.

"Chakrams, atlatls, bows and arrows, boomerangs, shurikens-"

"Ohh throwing stars!" Willow interrupts excitedly. She looks at them sheepishly. "Sorry."

Giles shakes his head before continuing, "Spears, throwing axes, knives and sticks…" he shrugged. "Quite a large variety of medieval weaponry, from many places. It's quite an impressive collection, really."

"The shrunken things sound good, I'll take some of those," Buffy spoke up. She'd always wanted throwing stars.

"Shuriken," Angel corrected.

"Yeah, that," Buffy replied. It's not she actually cared how it was pronounced.

"My watcher has shown me how to use the atlatl, I'll take one of those," Kendra said. She'd been rather partial to the dart-thrower when being trained on it.

"Brilliant," Giles beamed.

"We're gonna need something that gives a lot of damage to a large group at once, like an explosion," Xander threw in.

"The boy's right," Spike agreed. "If we let them all into the library, we don't stand a chance. We need to take most of 'em out before the can get through the doors, then ambush the rest inside the school, most likely where the leader will be anyway," he told them.

"You make it sound so easy," Darla told him.

"'Fraid of the challenge, luv?" he grinned back.

"No, the challenge isn't the terrifying part," she shot back, her eyes telling him more than words ever could.

"You'll be fine, pet. Like you said, you always come back," he reassured her with a smirk.

Angel watched them suspiciously. They'd always had a flirtatious relationship but, as far as he knew, it had always been than just that. He'd always known Darla to have a secret desire to keep her family alive and intact but she'd never displayed her fondness of them so publicly. She rarely displayed it in private.

Darla sighed quietly. This was a battle in which she was, for once, more worried about someone other than herself. She'd been taking care of Drusilla for the last few days and, honestly, it was wearing her out. She had no idea how Spike dealt with her for a hundred years. Angel was as much a help now as he had been when he was soulless.

Truth be told, Spike was the only one she'd ever truly liked. Sure she'd had some sort of twisted love for Angelus. A sister-ship with Drusilla. But Spike-he was the only other _sane_ one. The one who'd listen to her complain about Angel, the one who'd complain to her about Drusilla. She supposed that he was something along the lines of her best friend. And now she's loosing him.

They hadn't seen each other for a decade or two but there'd always been the knowledge that he was out there somewhere. That all of her family was out there somewhere. Come Wednesday, she'd loose that security. And she really hated loosing.

"We could probably rig together some sort of explosion system," Xander said, snapping Darla back to reality. "I don't know where we'd start…"

Darla looked at Spike who was looking back at her with a smirk. "We do," they said in unison.

Spike thought back to one of the last times he'd traveled with Darla, they'd gotten themselves in a bit of a mess and the only way they could think of to get out of it was to blow everyone up. They might've gone a little heavier on the fire power than they'd intended. Only made it better in Spike's opinion. They'd partied for a week after they'd made it to safety before parting ways.

When he'd felt her die last year he'd felt an overwhelming sorrow encompass him for a day or two. The empty feeling that her death provoked had followed him ever since though. Probably because they'd always had an understanding, Darla and him. They were the stable ones, for as unpredictable as he could be and as bitchy she was, they were the sane ones.

"Why am I not surprised?" Buffy said smirking at Spike.

Spike gave a reckless grin in reply. "We'll get started on that tonight, yeah?" he asked Darla.

"Yeah," she agreed. "You got the supplies?" she questioned him.

"Most of them, we'll have to pick a few things up," He answered.

"We're going to let them do this unsupervised?" Angel asked incredulously.

Darla glared at him. "You're not _letting_ us do anything. We're choosing to help so we do this our way," she snapped at him.

Spike's grin widened. "Yeah."

Giles interrupted before they could continue their spat, "Can you have it all ready by tomorrow?" he asked.

"Sure thing, watcher," Spike nodded as he stood up.

"Dru's yours tonight Angel," Darla told her childe as she too stood up and started towards the door.

Drusilla smirked at Angel, the childlike playfulness in her eyes making a furious return. She'd been neglected by her sire for far too long.

"I'll hit up the local liquor store while you get whatever else we need," Darla told him. If this was their last chance to 'hang out' as old friends then they might was well make a night of it.

"Right," he nodded as they walked out together.

Drusilla glided over to Angel and wrapped an arm around him, waiting for him to escort her out. Angel looked at their entwined arms before shooting an apologetic glance over to Buffy. She just shrugged in reply, quickly looking away from them. Angel sighed and turned to walk Drusilla out.

**_~BTVS~_**

"I think that's the whole of it then," Giles said after the last vampires cleared out.

"Wait!" Xander exclaimed. "I can't even pronounce the names of some of those weapons, I definitely don't know how to use them."

Willow nodded shyly. "Same here."

"Uh-well…" Giles floundered.

"I can show you some tings," Kendra spoke up.

"That would be great, Kendra," Giles said, relieved.

"I'll stick with the bow and arrow," Buffy told them, she was confident in her ability to use it. It was one of the things that she'd enjoyed learning to wield. "We'll meet in the library after classes tomorrow. Once the school clears out we can begin training and setting up," she continued.

"So we're done for the night then?" Willow asked.

"Not quite," Buffy grinned. "I think, since this might be out last chance, that we should Bronze it. One last night of dancing and fun before the world ends."

Willow and Xander exchange a glance before their faces break out into grins and they jump up. "We're in," they said in unison.

"Coming Kendra? Giles?" Buffy asked.

"I'll-uh stay here," he told them. He'd enjoy this night as well. There's a vintage bottle of scotch waiting for him.

"Kendra?" Buffy asked again.

"I…don't think…" the other slayer started to reply.

Xander rolled his eyes and walked over to her, grabbing her hand and pulling her up, ignoring her flinch. "Let's go," he said with a smile.

She ducked her head and finally agreed. What harm could it do? She might be dead in a couple days anyway. Might as well let Buffy and her friends show her what normal teenagers do.

Buffy shot Giles one last smile, which he returned, before the teens filed out of the apartment and into the night.

He locked the door behind them and smiled. He hoped that they had a trouble free night, they deserved this last one.

_**~BTVS~**_


	15. Chapter 15

_****_**A/N- Sorry for the insanely long wait! I feel like I haven't had any time to myself in last two months =/. I promise that I have not forgotten about this fic and will continue to update as often as I'm able. **

**Big thanks to "Embers and Flame", "Litalove", "shadow", "cosmiclove", "darkeyesgirl", "napa2010", "Spike's real lover," "SayianWizard", "amberrobin", "PeaceHeather", "nosurprises", and "Anigen" for your reviews! That's the most reviews I've gotten off of one chapter, hope I haven't lost you all in the long wait! Enjoy!**

_**~BTVS~**_

_Monday Evening:_

They sat on the concrete slab that made up the sarcophagus and swallowed another shot of tequila. They were taking their time putting the explosives together, what was the hurry? They had all night.

"After I left Ireland, I spent some time in Australia. I just love their accents. They taste great too," Darla told him with a grin.

Spike laughed. "I remember."

"What about you, William? Where have you been?"

Spike shrugged. "Here an' there. Went to South America for a spell."

Darla rolls her eyes. "It's not like you to be so forthcoming, Spike!" she says sarcastically.

"Not much to tell. I spent the last couple decades, drinking, eating and fucking. Same ol', same ol'," he told her with a leer.

"What happened with Dru?" Darla asks for the thousandth time.

"Forever is a long time to spend with one person, luv. You of all people should understand that," Spike replied evasively.

"You're not like the rest of us, William. I knew that the moment Dru brought you home to us," she told him nostalgically.

He shrugged. "Maybe _'m _not, but _she_ is. Forever is a long time," he repeated.

"So she strayed again," Darla stated succinctly.

Spike nodded. "There was a fight. We've 'ad a lot of fights over the decades, Me and Dru. This one was different. I knew righ' then and there that it was over," he sighed and poured himself another shot of the tequila.

Darla nodded in satisfaction. He was a hard one to break sometimes. He was self-proclaimed as "Love's Bitch" but that didn't make him an open book.

She looked back down at the components that she was working with and began binding it together. The crypt was silent as the grave so to speak as the focused on the task at hand.

_**~BTVS~**_

Buffy laughed as Xander twirled Willow across the dance floor. The redhead had been reluctant to allow him to lead her out there and from the look of it she was regretting giving in just as much as she was enjoying herself. The slayer smiled as she watched them, it was good for Willow to put herself out there sometimes.

Kendra sat beside her looking at the crowd with wide eyes as she took in the teen scene. Buffy realized that she's probably never been to anything like this before.

"You're really not allowed to hang out with friends or anything after a good fight?" Buffy asked, somewhat incredulous.

Kendra removed her gaze from a couple that was blatantly unafraid of making out in public and looked at her slayer sister. "I don' have friends or anyting,"

"That's sucks," the blonde replied simply.

"When I die I will not bring anyone down wit' me," Kendra pointed out.

"My friends are my biggest strength," Buffy told her as she looked her in the eyes.

Kendra bowed her head slightly, not willing to argue with her counterpart, and returned her attention to the people around them.

_**~BTVS~**_

Willow laughed as Xander continued to make fools out of them. If they're all going to be dead in 48 hours then why not?

"These guys are good," she shouted to her best friend, referring to the music. "Who are they?"

"'Dingoes and the baby' or something," he replied with his goofy smile in place. He grabbed both her hands and twirled them around in a sloppy circle. Who cared about swagger and grace when the world is ending?

_**~BTVS~**_

He watched her from the stage, guitar in hand. She was dancing with some guy, they were obviously just friends. He wasn't sure what drew him to her, maybe it was the laughing innocence that played out over her features or her unassuming beauty.

He was so caught up in her that he almost forgot to join in on the chorus. Devin elbowed him in the ribs to get his attention and raised an eyebrow. He shrugged and returned his focus to the music. "Dingoes Ate My Baby" saved his life. His band were his family, and there was nothing better than the rush of sharing a new song with the crowd at The Bronze.

The dancing lights played off of his spiked bright blonde hair as his head turned once again to catch sight of the pretty redhead.

_**~BTVS~**_

He was going absolutely insane. Karma, he assumes. After all, this is what he did to her all those years ago. He drove her crazy and then he, idiotically, turned her into an immortal so she could spend an eternity returning the favor.

There was only so many times he could refuse to dance with her and her dolls before he finally gave in. So here they were, making sweeping circles. Just them and Miss Edith. And Wilma, and Trudy. Eliza had been part of their party until she'd said something to offend Drusilla. Now she was sitting in the corner, back to them, excluded. Oh, how he wished he could trade her places.

_**~BTVS~**_

Giles laughed as he read a passage of his book. A fantasy fiction piece that was a rather nice escape from his usual reading material. He took another swig of his scotch, he closed his eyes as he savored the rich flavor.

It's not an entirely horrible way to spend one of your last nights on earth. Not that he necessarily believes that they won't be alive come Thursday morning. Chances are slim, he'd quite honestly feel a bit better about their odds if it didn't all rest on a rebellious vampire.

He sighed and tried to refocus on the pages in front of him. There was plenty of time to worry tomorrow as they prepared for everything. Tonight-tonight was his to enjoy.

_**~BTVS~**_

Dawn approached and they had the explosives all but triggered. Liquor bottles were littered all around them. They had rigged the explosives together so that once one was lit the rest would follow. Some were meant for a controlled area, others were projectiles. If they set it up properly then it would cover a lot of ground.

Spike waved Darla downstairs to his sleeping quarters. "Too late to go back now, luv," he told her.

"Guess I'm crashing here then," she smirked as she crawled into his bed.

He returned the grin and followed her lead as he made himself comfortable on the other side. He gave a brief sigh and closed his eyes, hoping that dreams of Hell would leave him be for the day.

_**~BTVS~**_

They laughed as they danced their way to Giles' front door. As the night had moved on Kendra had found herself loosening up and even accepted a dance or two with Xander. After she managed to push past her nerves she stuttered a lot less and was able to enjoy herself.

Fun wasn't something she'd ever experienced before. The closest thing that came to it was the adrenaline rush and thrill that came from a hunt and subsequent battle. Her favorite part of the night was when she, Buffy and Willow were all dancing together on the floor. Friends. She'd never had those before.

As she said goodnight to the gang before her, light still shining in her eyes, she promised herself that her watcher would never find out about this night. Tomorrow they'd be back to preparing for the apocalypse and tonight would be nothing more than a distant memory that she would draw on only in her most private moments.

_**~BTVS~**_

Giles woke up briefly when he heard laughter nearby. He smiled to himself as he recognized it. He was glad that they had a good time. From the sounds of it even Kendra managed to enjoy herself.

His eyes fluttered closed and allowed himself to drift back into slumber as he heard the door quietly shut downstairs.

_**~BTVS~**_

Buffy walked with Xander and Willow, determined to see them home before she returned to her own house.

"This was a good idea, Buff," Xander told her with a grin.

"Yeah, much needed," Willow agreed.

"Yeah, it was. Tomorrow everything changes," She sighed.

"We still have to do school," Xander grumbled.

Buffy laughed. "After that."

"The vamps meeting us after sundown?" he asked.

"Yes, we'll start setting up as soon as night falls. By Wednesday we'll be as well prepared as possible. After that…"

"It's all up to Spike," Willow finished.

"Am I the only one who still has a bad feeling about the fate of the world being in the hands of a vampire?" Xander asked as he scratched the back of his head.

"Of our four choices I'm glad that it's Spike," Willow told him.

"Ditto," Buffy nodded.

Xander was silent for a moment as he mulled it over. "Yeah, I guess he's not so bad." He looked up. "This is me," he told them as she took in the sight of his house. This was possibly the last night he'd spend in it.

Buffy turned and pulled him into a hug. "Goodnight. I'll see ya tomorrow, Xan."

He returned the hug with enthusiasm. When he let her go he nodded to them. "Night ladies!"

"And I'm just right around the corner," Willow smiled.

"I'll take you there anyway. Never know if anyone decided to stick around," Buffy shrugged.

Willow nodded and looked at Buffy. "So…you and Spike?"

Buffy sighed. "There isn't really a 'BuffyandSpike'," admitted. "We wouldn't be able to make anything of it anyway, he's…" she trailed off.

Willow nodded knowingly. "I know," she said softly.

"He's adamant that nothing happen again, it's for the best, I know that it is. I just…"

Willow smiled. "You just want more Spike kissage."

"Yeah, pretty much," Buffy replied with a roll of her eyes. "I am learning some good fight moves though. Getting more confident. I'm starting to believe that we might actually win this thing."

"If anyone can do it, it's you," her friend told her with a passion that assured Buffy that she meant it.

"It's us, Wills. We all do it together," Buffy amended as they walked up the steps to Willow's house.

Willow smiled brightly at her as she turned the handle. "Goodnight, Buffy."

"Night," Buffy smiled back. She waited until Willow was safely inside before she turned and walked away. Her bed called her name.

_**~BTVS~**_

Angel didn't think that she'd ever tire herself out. He has no idea how in the hell Spike had managed her for so long. He felt a grudging respect grow for his grandchilde. He'd spent the entire night chasing Drusilla around, feeding into her twisted games and strange dances.

The sun was threatening to rise soon, and he'd passed the end of his patience hours ago.

"Drusilla!" he snapped angrily.

She stopped immediately and looked at him with large sad eyes, full of hurt and shock at his outburst. He found himself feeling guilty for a moment before he hardened his resolve. "Bed time," he gritted out.

He watched, eyebrow raised, as she narrowed her eyes and sanity leaked in. She was submissive nonetheless and turned on a heel as she glided out of the room.

For the first time that night it was quiet.

_**~BTVS~**_

Cordelia spent her night at home, painting her nails and watching a marathon of movies. Her parents had hosted a dinner party that evening and she was forced to sit and play the perfect little daughter. Her mind had drifted repeatedly to what was probably happening at Giles'.

After the party she had excused herself to her room and hadn't left since. It was the most relaxing night she'd had in way too long. This could be her last relaxing night ever. She supposed that she could have hit up a college party or gone to The Bronze, spent her last night amongst the masses, partying and listening to her "friends" ramble about things that didn't matter.

She was glad that she didn't. This was stress free. She didn't have to pretend or put up with her faux friends. If this was one of her last nights on earth then she was glad that she decided to spend it this way.

_**~BTVS~**_


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Thanks so much for your patience I know it's been way too long a wait. Life's just flying by, ya know?**

**Anyway, huge thanks to "Litalove", "Guest" (lol), "shadow", "S1r3h", "carlos", "darkeyesgirl", Terapsina","Ero-Neko-Hime" and "spike'smate" for your reviews! I will definitely try to update again soon!**

**~BTVS~**

Buffy could barely focus as she went through the day, she felt like she were listening to the adults in Charlie Brown. Blah, blah, blah.

She distractedly wrote down her homework assignments, knowing the entire time that she may never have to even think about doing them. The thought brought a smile to her face, small, but a smile nonetheless.

She glanced to the right and saw Xander looking back at her, she could practically see her same thoughts flowing through his brain. The thought of being forever rid of homework providing a glimmer of hope in dark times.

She looked over to Willow she saw that the redhead's attention was fixed firmly on their teacher, hand absently writing down the information as it was said. Always the overachiever. If the world was gonna end, Willow was going to have her assignments handed in and leave this world with a 4.0.

**~BTVS~**

A smooth sizzling sound cut through the night, the stench of burnt flesh was keenly smelled by anyone with nostrils. Spike really wasn't sure if that number would be a large one, as he took in the sight of his torturers. He could smell it though, it was all that he could smell. It was, after all, his flesh.

Yet he did not make a sound, teeth clenched together so hard that he wondered momentarily if they'd break off, maybe that would distract him from the torture. Trading pain for pain. He doubted that it would.

Searing heat filled his gut as a red hot poker slid in easily through his ribs, as though his flesh and muscle were no thicker than butter. He feet had already been burned raw by the hot coals he was forced to stand on. They say that Hell is filled with fire and flame, they have no idea how right they are.

**~BTVS~**

Darla jolted awake when an arm flung out and hit her in the face, her eyes turned amber as she struggled to identify her surroundings. She looked over to see Spike lying next to her in a restless slumber. She put a hand on his shoulder and shook him. She groaned when he didn't wake up.

She rolled her eyes and balled her fist up, she swung her arm back before she let it fly, punching him right on the shoulder. He woke too quickly for her to move, his left hand swung out and forcefully pushed her off the bed.

She sat up and glared at the blonde who regained his senses and looked at her with a sheepish grin. "Sorry luv."

"Asshole," she mutters. "What the hell were you dreaming about?"

"Can't remember," he lied as he rolled his shoulders and got out of bed.

He sniffed the air and smirked. "Almost show time."

Darla looked at him and nodded, "Yeah. I'll get the stuff together, you get us someone to eat."

"That's not gonna happen," a new voice said, joining them.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Angelus."

Darla glanced over at the newcomers as she finished packing the bags. _Oh how the mighty have fallen _she thought to herself as her eyes landed on Angelus.

"'Ello, my pet," Drusilla greeted her former love dancing up to him.

"Dru," he said emotionlessly, shrugging her off.

The hurt still shown in her eyes, but a lucid understanding could be seen glimmering deep into her depths as well, and she smiled sadly at him.

"Come 'ere to baby-sit, poofter?" Spike asked his grandsire with a raised eyebrow.

"Just makin' sure you make it to the school," Angel said with a shrug.

Darla rolled her eyes,. "Stop the pissing contest and grab a bag," she ordered, her power over the family shining through as the men shut up and did as commanded. She smirked as Spike glared at her. Linking an arm through his she led them into the night.

**~BTVS~**

Giles unlocked the gate and swung it open, walking inside he pulled the dust covers off the shelves and a great many weapons were brought into sight.

Xander whistled. "Wow, shiny," he grinned.

Willow smiled at him while Cordelia rolled her eyes, trying not to let her amusement show. She can't believe she's falling for Xander friggin' Harris.

Buffy entered the library with Kendra at her side, they had a lot of work to get done and not a lot of time to do it.

She looked at the weapons cage and grinned. There were many weapons that she had not been trained to use, but even those could come in handy when you're fighting for your life.

Kendra walked into the cage and picked up a strange looking stick thing. "The atlatl," she told them. A giddy grin made it's way onto her face, if she were going to die then she was going to take as many of those evil bastards down with her as she could.

**~BTVS~**

Spike rolled his eyes and pushed the doors to the library open, bag of explosives in hand.

"That's not how it happened!" Darla exclaimed.

"Yeah, it is!" Angel replied.

"Is not."

"Is too!"

"Maturity doth not the centuries bring," Spike said dryly causing the library's inhabitants to laugh.

"Shut up, William!" Darla told him.

Spike grinned and raised a scarred eyebrow pointedly. Darla rolled her eyes, "Like you can talk jackass."

Spike's grin widened. "I know you are but what am I?" he teased, playing along.

Buffy laughed along with her friends but her attention was focused completely on Spike. His arrival had seemed to make the air crackle around them. His eyes were more haunted today than yesterday and his smile did not reach his eyes.

Giles took off his glasses and began to clean them, "Shall we begin?"

Everyone started moving, bringing the weapons out of the cage and talking about how they were going to use them and where they'd be set up.

"Are those the explosives?" Xander asked eagerly, walking towards Spike.

"Yeah, we need to set up a perimeter around the school," Spike replied. He looked at the anxious teen standing awkwardly before him and had a brief flashback to his own humanity. "Grab a bag, whelp."

Xander grinned and did as ordered, following the blonde vampire outside. Buffy watched them go, a smile gracing her features. Her eyes met Angel's and she tried to make her smile wider.

"Probably shouldn't let Xander go alone," Angel told her grimly.

"He'll be fine," Buffy said without hesitation.

"Spike can't be trusted."

"That's enough, Angleus. Spike hasn't done anything but help since he got here," Darla said with condemnation.

Angel glared at her. "He's probably just biding his time. You know how he is."

"Yeah, I also know how impatient he is. Never one for he long con, that one."

"Mummy's right. William dances with death and doesn't try to escape. Not this time. He burns and melts, hurts and smolders as Hell drags him closer and closer with each night. The boy will be fine. My Spike will not." Drusilla spoke up, backing up Darla.

Buffy frowned. "What do you mean, 'Hell drags him closer each night?"

Drusilla looked at the slayer, the sunshine that stole her dark knight. "Dancing and twirling with daggers and hooks. Burning flesh and screaming heat. Breaking bones, taunting laughter every time sleep overtakes him. Hell does not wait for the demon," she poetically stated.

"That explains the shove," Darla muttered to herself. She glanced at the pretty blonde slayer and saw the worry that flashed through the girls eyes. The slayer turned away and started helping the redhead set up, her body with taut with tension now.

**~BTVS~**

Buffy didn't understand everything that the raven haired vampire had said but she got the gist of it. Spike was visiting Hell when he slept. It explained a few things, little moments where he seemed father away and more closed off.

He was literally slipping into Hell, getting a preview of his damnation. How unfair was that? Here he was, a man-demon or not-who was knowingly giving up his life to save the world and the powers couldn't even wait until he was dead to send him to Hell.

She looked up from where she was setting up her crossbows and looked over at Willow. She was with Kendra who was teaching her how to use her stick thing. The atlata or whatever. She smiled briefly as Willow threw a dart out and hit the target.

The plan was to set weapons up along the top floor of the library, where they'd be camped out. They'd have explosives set up at the back exit of the library as well as the front. With any luck they'd have enough firepower to keep the Scourge where they wanted them.

Angel and Darla were already setting the second set of explosives up in the back, Buffy's eyes fell on Spike's former love. The crazy vampire was spinning in circles, eyes moving wildly around the room, as though she were getting a preview of the coming battle. Hell, maybe she was.

**~BTVS~**

"Careful with that, Whelp. If you drop it, you blow up," Spike warned Xander as the boy stumbled and almost fell with the C4 in hand.

"Good to know," he replied breathlessly. They were almost finished. The explosives lined the entire perimeter of the school, starting at the front door of the school and ending at the door at the back of the library. There was enough distance from the building that as long as they timed it right they could take out massive numbers of the Scourge without blowing any more access points into the school or blowing themselves up.

"That should do it," Spike muttered as he laid down the last of it. He observed their work, perfectly positioned. He walked over to his car and quickly took the glowing blue sword from where he'd stashed it.

Xander looked at the blonde vampire as he walked back towards him, strange sword in hand. "Why are you doing this?" he blurted out, waving a hand towards the school.

Spike looked at him, brow raised. "I like to blow stuff up."

"No, I mean...why are you staying?"

"I'd be dead either way, innit right?" Spike pointed out. "This way I get to bring the bastards down with me."

"And you and Buffy?" Xander questioned quietly. "I've seen the way you two are together."

"Buffy will be fine, she's a tough lil chit. 'Sides, she's got you and Red to look out for her," Spike told the teen. He turned at started back inside, he had no desire for this conversation to get any deeper. Not like the boy doesn't have his own secret love affair to worry about, anyway.

**~BTVS~**

Oz hung back by his van and watched the strange pair walk into the school. He'd come here to pick up a book that he'd left behind and had found someone he's pretty sure goes to school with him and an slightly older guy setting up explosives or something. He's no stranger to the weird in Sunnydale and blowing up the school doesn't sound horrible, but his curiosity was almost overwhelming-and was that a sword the blonde was carrying?

**~BTVS~**

Xander tried to focus on Kendra as she showed Willow, Cordy and him how to use various weapons but his attention kept wandering around the room, watching as the unlikely team practiced with their chosen weapons. Buffy had already elected to stick with the crossbows and bows and arrows as her weapons of choice.

Spike had gleefully taken a few spears and throwing axes and hurled them through the library, hitting the bull's-eye on the targets. Drusilla had chosen a couple of chakrams, and was currently reminding him of Xena as she practiced throwing them around.

As his gaze moved to Darla and Angel he saw that they were stocking up on throwing stars, cool toys but not practical for him. You had to have good aim if you were going to take a demon out with one of those.

Kendra had decided to go with a boomerang as well as the atlatl. Willow, who was freakishly good with the dart thrower, had decided that she'd use one too.

And Xander? Well he had a stick. Which didn't look quite as dumb as it sounded because it was very tall, thick stick with a sharpened end. But it was still just a stick. He guessed that that's what happened when you were the group clown but, really? Did they even want him to survive this? Everyone else had range weapons as well melee. He supposed that if he stuck his arms out far enough the stick could have some range…

**~BTVS~**

Buffy walked up the stairs and found him looking out a window up there with a strange expression on his face.

She paused for a moment, mouth slightly open as she debated asking the question. "Drusilla said something interesting," she said before she could talk herself out of it.

"Yeah?" Spike replied.

"She said that you were slipping into Hell in your dreams," she told him bluntly. No beating around the bush for Buffy.

"Sure she wasn't being poetic, luv?" Spike asked with a shuttered grin, he didn't want to talk about this. Maybe if she had found out sooner. It's too late now.

"I don't think so. It explains a few things." She paused. "You can talk to me. I _want_ you to talk to me."

"We're not going there, slayer. Remember? 'Sides it-"

"Doesn't matter?" she asked, angrily cutting him off. "It does to me, no matter where we said we weren't going!"

"Why?" he asked calmly.

That left her speechless, because isn't that what she's been wondering this whole time? What they'd both been wondering? Why do they care so much? Why are they drawn to each other? Why does any of it matter when he was going to be dead tomorrow? "I don't know," she whispered brokenly.

Spike nodded and pointed to the window where the sky was still dark. Buffy's eyes widened as she realized what he was getting at. The two of them turned to walk back to the others. Their Hands brushed together for one brief moment and sent sparks shooting through both of them.

**~BTVS~**

"Am I the only one not smelling dawn?" Darla asked suddenly, slightly worried.

"What time is it?" Angel asked.

Cordelia checked her watch, "Almost 6," she replied.

"The sun should have started to rise by now," Angel muttered.

"When night becomes day and day becomes night..." Spike intoned as he and Buffy came back into view. He looked at the people gathered in the room. "It's time."

**~BTVS~**


End file.
